NEW DELHI: Kolkata Knight Riders kept their playoff hopes alive with a 29-run win over Gujarat Titans in an IPL 2026 match at the Eden Gardens on Saturday, ending Gujarat’s five-match winning streak despite a battling knock from skipper Shubman Gill.Chasing 248, Gujarat Titans finished at 218 for 4 after the Kolkata bowlers held their nerve in the death overs.Gill led the chase with 85 off 49 balls, hitting five fours and seven sixes. Jos Buttler added 57 off 35 balls while Sai Sudharsan returned after being injured to remain unbeaten on 53 off 28 deliveries.But Kolkata pulled the game back after dismissing Gill and Buttler in quick succession. Sunil Narine played a key role with figures of 2 for 29.GT started strongly with Sudharsan and Gill adding 42 runs in the first three overs. However, Sudharsan got injured after being hit by an elbow. He was replaced by Nishant Sindhu but was dismissed cheaply by Narine, who was playing his 200th IPL match.Gill continued the onslaught, hitting boundaries and sixes against Narine, Anukul Roy and Varun Chakaravarthy. Buttler also found rhythm as the partnership kept Gujarat in the chase.Gill reached his fifty in 33 balls and continued to score freely. Buttler brought up his half-century as Gujarat reached 177 for 1 in 16 overs, needing 71 runs from the last four overs.The game changed when Narine dismissed Gill who was caught by Anukul Roy for a boundary. Buttler then fell trying to accelerate, trapping Saurabh Dubey at long off.Sudharsan came back to finish his innings and reach his fifty but the target proved too much. Rahul Tewatia was dismissed by Cameron Green late in the innings as KKR sealed the win.The win took Kolkata Knight Riders to seventh in the points table, two points behind fourth-placed Punjab Kings.Earlier, KKR posted 247 for 2 after strong batting performances from Finn Allen, Angkrish Raghuvanshi and Green.Allen smashed 93 off 35 balls to get Kolkata off to a flying start. Raghuvanshi then played an unbeaten 82 off 44 deliveries while Green was not out on 52 off 28 balls to take KKR closer to the 250-run mark.Kolkata were also helped by Gujarat Titans’ poor fielding during the innings.
