In Monday’s IPL 2025 match at Eden Gardens, the aspirations of the Kolkata Knight Riders were dashed when Rashid Khan, a spinner for the Gujarat Titans, took the crucial wicket of Andre Russell. Russell tried for the big hit as the run-rate steadily increased. But he was duped by the Afghanistan leg-spinner, which allowed Jos Buttler to get a simple stumping opportunity.
The top spinner was removed for the third time by Titans captain in the sixteenth over of the innings. The West Indian cricketer had to do magic for his team since the Knight Riders needed to score 85 runs in the last five overs. In the first four balls, the veteran had only managed three dots and a boundary. The Jamaican then stepped down the track for the huge swing on the on-side, and Buttler took advantage of the situation to stump him.
Russell has been dreadfully unproductive this season, but on Monday, he displayed signs of getting back to his previous level of play. In the first three deliveries, he hit a six and a boundary to score ten runs. But in the end, Rashid Khan’s impact was restricted to a 21 off 15 balls.
Rashid Khan Strikes Twice as Gujarat Titans Win by 39 Runs
In just his third ball of the innings, the wrist-spinner had removed the dangerous Sunil Narine before eliminating Russell. With 199 to chase down, the reigning champions rarely appeared anything near overhauling the target at the Eden Gardens. Despite hammering a valiant half-century, the right-hander Ajinkya Rahane received little assistance from the opposition.
Rahane had won the toss earlier in the evening and had decided to pursue. The game was set up for the team by Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan’s opening partnership of 114, with the latter leaving for 52. Jos Buttler’s undefeated 41 from 23 balls included eight boundaries. Gill was the highlight of their batting display, scoring 90 runs off of just 55 deliveries to lead their team to 198/3.
In response, Rashid and Prasidh Krishna each claimed two wickets as the Titans held the Knight Riders to 159/8 in 20 overs.
