R Sai Kishore from the Gujarat Titans (GT) has come out swinging in support of his fellow spinner Rashid Khan, especially now that the Indian Premier League (IPL) is hitting its crucial stages. It’s been a tough season for Rashid; he’s only picked up six wickets across eight matches, which is honestly not what we expect from him. Still, he showed flashes of brilliance in the recent game against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), where he posted impressive bowling figures of 2 for 25. That performance helped GT keep KKR at 159 runs while chasing a hefty target of 199 at the famous Eden Gardens.
After the match, former England player Nick Knight, who was providing commentary, couldn’t help but ask Kishore his thoughts on Rashid’s performance. He noted that it hasn’t been the smoothest season for Rashid and inquired how Kishore feels about it after Rashid nabbed a couple of critical wickets. Kishore defended Rashid wholeheartedly, calling him the best T20 bowler and emphasized that the entire team has full faith in him to bounce back as the tournament continues. He even playfully threw shade at the commentators for doubting Rashid’s form, while Knight agreed that he too wants to see Rashid hit his stride.
Kishore said, “He’s one of the best T20 bowlers in the world. You can see he’s starting to get back to his wicket-taking form. We all believe in him – it’s hard to know what it’s like being in the commentary box, but none of us doubt his abilities.” Knight replied, “We never doubt him. That’s why we’re all rooting for him to do well.”
Now, about the game itself—Shubman Gill really took charge, scoring 90 runs off 55 balls to lead GT to a solid victory over KKR by 39 runs. The team finished their innings at a strong 198 runs for 3 wickets, largely thanks to an awesome partnership of 114 runs between Sai Sudharsan, who contributed a solid 52, and Gill.
When KKR stepped up to bat, the bowlers from GT came together to keep them to 159 runs for 8 wickets. KKR’s captain, Ajinkya Rahane, did his best to keep his team afloat with a lone 50 runs, but it wasn’t enough. After having clinched the title the previous year, this marks KKR’s fifth loss in eight matches this season—a tough break for last year’s champions. Also worth mentioning, Jos Buttler from England sealed the deal for GT with an unbeaten 41 runs off just 23 balls, further showing that the batting order is firing on all cylinders after that strong opening stand.
