NEWS WAVE INDIA: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) defeated Gujarat Titans by three wickets in a nail-biting encounter during Match 13 of the TATA IPL 2023 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The victory marked KKR’s second win in a row.

Rinku Singh emerged as the hero for KKR, smashing five sixes in a row off Yash Dayal in the last over to win the match with 28 runs needed off five balls. He remained unbeaten on 48 off 21 balls with one four and six sixes.

Venkatesh Iyer, the Impact Player for KKR, played a crucial role in the team’s victory, scoring a blistering 83 off 40 balls. He was supported by Nitish Rana, who scored 45 off 29 balls. Rashid Khan, the captain of Gujarat Titans, took the first hat-trick of IPL 2023 but was unable to prevent KKR from clinching the win.

Defending 204, Gujarat Titans got off to a good start as Mohd. Shami struck early and dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz. However, Iyer and Rana steadied the innings and took the attack to Rashid Khan, hitting him for 23 runs in two overs. KKR scored 60 runs in the 8 to 12 over phase.

With 56 runs needed off 30 balls, Alzarri Joseph picked up two crucial wickets for Gujarat Titans, dismissing Rana and Iyer. Rashid Khan then turned the tables in his team’s favor with a superb hat-trick, dismissing Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Shardul Thakur.

However, Rinku Singh’s heroics in the last over helped KKR secure a thrilling win. Earlier, Gujarat Titans stand-in captain Rashid Khan won the toss and elected to bat. KKR made three changes to their team, while Gujarat Titans made two changes.