Picture Credit: Twitter
The first game of Saturday's doubleheader is being played between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Gujarat Titans (GT). After winning the toss, Hardik Pandya surprised everyone with his decision to bat first. The Gujarat Titans skipper had another surprise for his fans as he promoted himself up the order and walked out to bat at No.3.
Although it was surprising, Pandya looked in great touch right from the first ball he faced. The all-rounder played his shots against Tim Southee and hit the bowler for two boundaries. But he found himself in trouble at one moment in the over where he almost lost his wicket.
On the last ball of the second over, Southee bowled a length delivery to which Pandya came charging down the pitch. However, he missed the line and the ball hit him on the ribs. It then popped up in front of Southee who had three bare stumps in front of him to get rid of Pandya who was way out of the crease. But the pacer could not get the throw right giving Pandya a life.
Watch the video here:
Gujarat play cautiously
After opting to bat first, Gujarat did not make an impressive start as they lost Shubman Gill early in the innings. Although Pandya and Saha did find some boundaries in the middle, they could only accumulate 47 runs inside the first six overs. The pitch also looked a tad slower in terms of reaching the batter. The KKR bowlers made good use of the surface to not give freebies.
Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy also bowled sensible line and lengths to cramp the batters for room. Meanwhile, for Gujarat, Wriddhiman Saha also could not do much as he departed after scoring a run-a-ball 25. Saha hit two boundaries and a six during his stay at the crease.