Kolkata (West Bengal), April 29 : After winning the match against Kolkata Knight Riders by 7 wickets, Player of the match Joshua Little said that he spoke to captain Hardik Pandya before the game and he told him to keep it simple.
In the post-match presentation, Joshua Little said, "I just spoke to Hardik before the game and we talked about keeping it as simple as possible - hitting the hard lengths, and happy that I could do it today."
Little in his first five matches had just three wickets in IPL 2023. Talking about his early performances and not delivering to his potential, he said that starting games can be nervous but now it has been settled down.
"The first game of the season was always going to be nerves. I have settled in nicely now. (On his plan on this pitch) It was just about smashing back of a length and letting the ball do the talking," he added
In the match against KKR, Little took two wickets conceding 25 runs with an economy of 6.20.
Put to bat first by GT, KKR put up a competitive total of 179/7 in their 20 overs. Wickets kept falling for KKR, but Rahmanullah Gurbaz kept the other end steady with an explosive knock of 81 runs in 39 balls, which consisted of five fours and seven sixes. At the end, an entertaining cameo from Andre Russell (34 off 19 balls, with two fours and three sixes) pushed KKR to a competitive score.
Mohammed Shami was the pick of the bowlers for GT, taking 3/33 in his four overs. Joshua Little (2/25) and Noor Ahmed (2/21) also delivered economical four-over spells.
However, it was an off day for Rashid as he gave away 54 runs in four overs without any wickets, with an economy rate of 13.50.
In the chase of 180, Shubman Gill started really well. He played a knock of 49 in 35 balls, consisting of eight fours. He was supported well by skipper Hardik Pandya, who scored 26 off 20 balls, with two fours and a six and put on a 50-run stand for the second wicket. After they both were dismissed, GT was reduced to 93/3 in 11.2 overs.
The duo of Vijay Shankar (51* in 24 balls, with two fours and five sixes) and David Miller (32* in 18 balls with two fours and two sixes) helped GT seal a seven-wicket win with 13 balls to go.
Sunil Narine, Harshit Rana and Andre Russell got a wicket each.
Joshua Little was named as the 'Player of the Match' for his spell of 2/25.
With this win, GT are the new table-toppers with 12 points, having won six matches out of eight. KKR are at the seventh position with three wins and six losses.
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