The China Mail - Gill, Sudharsan help toppers Gujarat boss Kolkata in IPL

Gujarat posted 198-3 after Sai Sudharsan, who hit 52, and Gill put on 114 runs for the first wicket to lay the foundations of the total at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

The bowlers then combined to restrict Kolkata to 159-8 with skipper Ajinkya Rahane playing a lone hand with 50 to register Gujarat's sixth win in eight matches.

Kolkata, who won their third title of the popular T20 tournament last year, slipped to their fifth defeat in eight matches.

The batters set up victory for Gujarat with England's Jos Buttler hitting an unbeaten 41 off 23 balls as he steered the team after the opening stand between the Sudharsan and Gill.

Gill was watchful at the start but the left-handed Sudharsan hit a few boundaries to get Gujarat going after being invited to bat first.

Gill took on Moeen Ali with a six and two fours in the second spell for the former England spinner and soon reached his third half-century of the season.

The in-form Sudharsan raised his fifth 50-plus score in this edition as he went past 400 runs to nudge out Lucknow Super Giants batsman Nicholas Pooran (368) as the leading batsman.

Buttler is third with 356 runs in his eight innings.

Andre Russell handed Kolkata its first breakthrough as the pace bowler dismissed Sudharsan after his 36-ball knock but he came under attack from Buttler who hit him for three successive boundaries.

Buttler and Gill kept up the attack before fast bowler Vaibhav Arora denied the Gujarat captain his hundred.

Buttler lost another partner in Rahul Tewatia but Gujarat finished with a flourish in a 18-run 20th over from Arora.

In reply, Kolkata lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the first over of the chase when Mohammed Siraj got the Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batsman trapped lbw for one.

Sunil Narine, a left-hand opener, and Rahane hit back with regular boundaries in a brisk partnership of 41 until Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan broke the stand.

Rashid had Narine caught out for 17 before Rahane and Venkatesh Iyer put on another stand to keep Kolkata in the hunt.

Sai Kishore removed Iyer on 14 and fellow spinner Washington Sundar sent back Rahane stumped out after his fifty to derail the chase.

Russell added some spark with a 15-ball 21 as he hit three fours and one six but Rashid picked up his second wicket to remove him thanks to a Buttler stumping.

Season's leading bowler Prasidh Krishna then took two wickets in one over to take his count to 16.

M.Chau--ThChM