IPL 2025 Live Report: Siraj Strikes Early as GT Defends 198

IPL 2025 Live Report: Siraj Attacks First as GT Holds 198 Written by Siddharth Monga It was posted twelve minutes ago.

Gurbaz Arrives Earlier
For KKR, a change at the top didn’t exactly work. Rahmanullah Gurbaz was out of the game when Mohammed Siraj hit him in the opening over with a clever seam delivery that trapped him at the crease. Gurbaz was out even though a review was taken after the ball struck him on the top of the pad. Only 0.5 overs later, KKR is now 2/1.

Siraj is now tied with the second-most IPL wickets with 12 this season.

Correction: It wasn’t a wobble-seam delivery. It was a seam-up outswinger that jagged back in – very difficult for any batter to handle.
Ishant In, Rutherford Out

GT noticed the grip on offer for Harshit Rana and responded by bringing in Ishant Sharma as an Impact Player in place of Arshad Khan. Mohammed Siraj opened the bowling spell, taking on the challenge of facing Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sunil Narine right from the first over.
Was GT’s Attack Enough?

In the last two Ihttps://www.iplt20.com/PL seasons, teams scoring between 170-210 and attacking less than 40% of the deliveries have won just 9 and lost 12. In contrast, teams attacking more than 40% have won 14 and lost 7.

In today’s match, GT attacked just 41 balls — about 34% of their total, which is on the lower side. Let’s see if this conservative approach works out, but they haven’t exactly given themselves a massive target to defend. Still, they’ve at least avoided being bowled out cheaply.
GT Finish at 198/3

This is just the second time in this IPL season that a team batting first has lost three or fewer wickets. That shows GT played it safe and avoided risks. Will that cost them, especially considering that in the last match at Eden Gardens, a total of 238 was nearly chased down?
Gill Falls for 90

Shubman Gill paced his innings nicely, taking his time and putting away the bad balls. But when a full toss came his way, he didn’t go hard and instead checked his shot — caught at deep mid-wicket.

That ball should’ve gone into the stands, but Gill played it safe. He made 90 off 54 balls with a control percentage of around 90. He didn’t really play any false shots, so it’s more about whether he left some runs behind. GT were 172/2 with 2 overs to go when he got out.

Gill’s innings breakdown:

19 balls, 22 runs during the Powerplay

12 balls, 23 runs while assessing the pitch

14 balls, 16 runs after Sudharsan’s dismissal

12 balls, 29 runs in the final burst

KKR’s Chase Begins – No de Kock

KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bowl first at Eden Gardens. Sitting 7th on the table, KKR made some changes — notably dropping veteran Quinton de Kock in favor of young Afghan keeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz.

Following their disappointing collapse for 95 runs in the last game, they opted to bolster their batting lineup by replacing Anrich Nortje with Moeen Ali, aiming to add more depth and stability.. Rahane said the pitch looked a bit dry, and he expected it to assist his bowlers.
GT’s Strategy and Line-up

Sitting at the top of the table, Gujarat Titans took on the task of posting a competitive total, backing the pitch—much like KKR—to favor their spin arsenal.. Off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar was picked in place of a pacer, giving GT much-needed batting depth.

In the previous outing, Rashid Khan was slotted in at number 7, highlighting the confidence his team placed in their top-order to deliver the bulk of the runs.7, and they didn’t need the lower order because the top three did most of the damage. Today, Arshad Khan was expected to be swapped out for Sherfane Rutherford while defending the total.

With an impressive average of 49.72 runs, GT’s top three have been the league’s most consistent, giving the team the luxury to hold Rashid Khan down the batting order.Only LSG’s top three have scored more runs and at a faster pace, with a strike rate of 172.4 compared to GT’s 155.92.
Playing XIs:

Gujarat Titans:

Shubman Gill (C)

B Sai Sudharsan

Jos Buttler (wk)

Sherfane Rutherford

Shahrukh Khan

Rahul Tewatia

Rashid Khan

Washington Sundar

Sai Kishore

Mohammed Siraj

Pradeep Sangwan

Impact Subs (Possible):
The bench strength featured a versatile mix of players including Ishant Sharma, Karim Janat, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, and Arshad Khan, each ready to make an impact if called upon.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)

Sunil Narine

Ajinkya Rahane (C)

Venkatesh Iyer

Rinku Singh

Andre Russell

Ramandeep Singh

Moeen Ali

Vaibhav Arora

Harshit Rana

Varun Chakravarthy

Impact Subs (Possible):
Among the potential impact substitutes were Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, and Luvnith Sisodia—each bringing a distinct skill set to Kolkata’s arsenal.