Gujarat Titans took another step towards the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) playoffs after they beat defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday (April 21). Playing at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, GT beat KKR by 39 runs with Rashid Khan playing an important role. The win for GT now sees them top the IPL 2025 standings with 12 points as they target a place in the last four. After tge win Sai Kishore was full of praise for Rashid as he played a crucial role in the win.&nbsp;
<h2 class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">GT trust in Rashid Khan<o:p></o:p></h2>
&ldquo;It's definitely great to see him back. As a team, we never doubted him&mdash;never doubted his abilities. He&rsquo;s the best T20 bowler in the world. I think he&rsquo;s taken the most wickets in the format - I'm not exactly sure about the stats, but I believe he&rsquo;s right up there. It&rsquo;s just good to have him back,&rdquo; Kishore said in the post-match press conference.<o:p></o:p>
Rashid has not been at his best in the IPL 2025, scalping just six wickets in the tournament. He has been hammered for runs as well at times having seen RCB batters score 54 against him in one of the earlier matches. However, a composed show with the ball on Monday has seen Rashid&rsquo;s critics get silent with the crucial phase in the IPL forthcoming.
ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/cricket/cricket-only-rohit-can-answer-that-australia-legend-steve-waugh-on-indian-captains-future-in-tests-8987418" rel="dofollow noopener" target="_blank">&lsquo;Only Rohit can answer that&rsquo;: Australia legend Steve Waugh on Indian captain&rsquo;s future in Tests</a> 
The contest against KKR also saw captain Shubman Gill make his mark on the contest as he scored 90 runs against his former side. Alongside Sai Sudharsan he stitched an opening stand of 114 runs before the latter was dismissed. <o:p></o:p>
GT have reached two IPL finals in the past, winning the tournament in 2022 in their debut appearance. GT are next in action next Monday as they face Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansing Stadium in Jaipur. On the other hand, KKR will have a tough run-in if they are to defend their crown as they face Punjab Kings on Saturday at the Eden Gardens.

India News | Sports: Gujarat Titans took another step towards the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) playoffs after they beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Gujarat Titans took another step towards the Indian Premier League (IPL 2025) playoffs after they beat defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday (April 21). Playing at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, GT beat KKR by 39 runs with Rashid Khan playing an important role. The win for GT now sees them top the IPL 2025 standings with 12 points as they target a place in the last four. After tge win Sai Kishore was full of praise for Rashid as he played a crucial role in the win. GT trust in Rashid Khan “It's definitely great to see him back. As a team, we never doubted him—never doubted his abilities. He’s the best T20 bowler in the world. I think he’s taken the most wickets in the format - I'm not exactly sure about the stats, but I believe he’s right up there. It’s just good to have him back,” Kishore said in the post-match press conference. Rashid has not been at his best in the IPL 2025, scalping just six wickets in the tournament. He has been hammered for runs as well at times having seen RCB batters score 54 against him in one of the earlier matches. However, a composed show with the ball on Monday has seen Rashid’s critics get silent with the crucial phase in the IPL forthcoming. ALSO READ | ‘Only Rohit can answer that’: Australia legend Steve Waugh on Indian captain’s future in Tests The contest against KKR also saw captain Shubman Gill make his mark on the contest as he scored 90 runs against his former side. Alongside Sai Sudharsan he stitched an opening stand of 114 runs before the latter was dismissed. GT have reached two IPL finals in the past, winning the tournament in 2022 in their debut appearance. GT are next in action next Monday as they face Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansing Stadium in Jaipur. On the other hand, KKR will have a tough run-in if they are to defend their crown as they face Punjab Kings on Saturday at the Eden Gardens.

IPL 2025: Sai Kishore trusts in-form Rashid Khan after GT's latest win, says 'we never doubted him'

The Indian Premier League (IPL), over the years, has been a platform for the players across the world to showcase their talent, especially the Indian players. The league also serves as a tournament real-time international level match vibes for players to experience pressure, expectations and teaches them to handle nerves as well. Many players, both uncapped and seasoned, also try out different changes/variations they have made to their game in the league to have an impact.
One such change or rather a bowling variation was on the show during the Sunday (Apr 6) match between Gujarat Titans (GT) vs SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). Titans bowler Sai Kishore, who is a left-arm orthodox spinner, bowled SRH's Heinrich Klaasen - a right hand batter. Have a look at the video below:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet publive-iframes-block publive-Twitter-block" contenteditable="false" width="600" height="400" id="PL_blockquote_block-m96zb1rq-39pl1k83-gxyfgf3s">
Straight down the ground 🏹 Straight through the gates ☝️ 🎥 Eventful two deliveries between Sai Kishore and Heinrich Klaasen 🍿 Updates ▶ <a href="https://t.co/Y5Jzfr6Vv4">https://t.co/Y5Jzfr6Vv4</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TATAIPL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TATAIPL</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SRHvGT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SRHvGT</a> <a href="https://t.co/fRuW9PT8o7">pic.twitter.com/fRuW9PT8o7</a>
&mdash; IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) <a href="https://twitter.com/IPL/status/1908900835473375654?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2025</a></blockquote>
To explain the context, a left-arm orthodox spinner gets the ball to turn away from right handers just like Ravindra Jadeja. To move the ball into a right-hand batter like Klaasen, teams rely on right-arm off spinners, leg-spinners with googly or left-arm chinaman spinners like Kuldeep Yadav.
Also Read: <a class="gh-archive-page-post-title-link" href="https://www.wionews.com/cricket/ipl-2025-gt-pacer-ishant-sharma-fined-for-code-of-conduct-violation-against-srh-8935306" aria-label="IPL 2025: GT pacer Ishant Sharma fined for Code of Conduct violation against SRH">IPL 2025: GT pacer Ishant Sharma fined for Code of Conduct violation against SRH</a>
Left-arm orthodox spinners usually rely on their pace-variation and accurate line-and-length for a wicket. Most of them do have an arm ball which comes into the right-hand batters while skidding off the surface which means it becomes a bit quick with not much turn.
What Sai Kishore did, however, was truly exceptional and extra-ordinary in cricketing context. He seems to have developed a ball which moves into the right-handers and away from left-handers with decent amount of turn.
This variation makes Sai Kishore more than a one-dimensional spinner, in fact it makes him lethal against left-handers which is a novelty for left-arm orthodox spinners.
<h2>Who is Sai Kishore?</h2>
Sai Kishore hails from Tamil Nadu and idolises Ravi Ashwin - one of the modern greats of the game at least in Test cricket. Before earning a call in the IPL with GT in 2022, he was a net bowler with Chennai Super Kings in 2020 on the back of his performance in local TNPL tournament.
The 28-year-old six-foot three spinner has also played for India, albeit with second-string team in Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023.
In IPL, he played five games in 2022 season and took six wickets. In the next season, he didn't play a single game and again made five appearances in 2024, picking up seven wickets.
He wasn't retained by GT in IPL mega auction ahead of 2025 season but was bought back using the Right to Match (RTM) for INR 2 crore ($233,352).

Sai Kishore did  seems to have developed a ball which moves into the right-handers and away from left-handers with decent amount of turn. Cricket Sports

The Indian Premier League (IPL), over the years, has been a platform for the players across the world to showcase their talent, especially the Indian players. The league also serves as a tournament real-time international level match vibes for players to experience pressure, expectations and teaches them to handle nerves as well. Many players, both uncapped and seasoned, also try out different changes/variations they have made to their game in the league to have an impact. One such change or rather a bowling variation was on the show during the Sunday (Apr 6) match between Gujarat Titans (GT) vs SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). Titans bowler Sai Kishore, who is a left-arm orthodox spinner, bowled SRH's Heinrich Klaasen - a right hand batter. Have a look at the video below: Straight down the ground 🏹 Straight through the gates ☝️ 🎥 Eventful two deliveries between Sai Kishore and Heinrich Klaasen 🍿 Updates ▶ https://t.co/Y5Jzfr6Vv4#TATAIPL | #SRHvGT pic.twitter.com/fRuW9PT8o7 — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2025 To explain the context, a left-arm orthodox spinner gets the ball to turn away from right handers just like Ravindra Jadeja. To move the ball into a right-hand batter like Klaasen, teams rely on right-arm off spinners, leg-spinners with googly or left-arm chinaman spinners like Kuldeep Yadav. Also Read: IPL 2025: GT pacer Ishant Sharma fined for Code of Conduct violation against SRH Left-arm orthodox spinners usually rely on their pace-variation and accurate line-and-length for a wicket. Most of them do have an arm ball which comes into the right-hand batters while skidding off the surface which means it becomes a bit quick with not much turn. What Sai Kishore did, however, was truly exceptional and extra-ordinary in cricketing context. He seems to have developed a ball which moves into the right-handers and away from left-handers with decent amount of turn. This variation makes Sai Kishore more than a one-dimensional spinner, in fact it makes him lethal against left-handers which is a novelty for left-arm orthodox spinners. Who is Sai Kishore? Sai Kishore hails from Tamil Nadu and idolises Ravi Ashwin - one of the modern greats of the game at least in Test cricket. Before earning a call in the IPL with GT in 2022, he was a net bowler with Chennai Super Kings in 2020 on the back of his performance in local TNPL tournament. The 28-year-old six-foot three spinner has also played for India, albeit with second-string team in Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023. In IPL, he played five games in 2022 season and took six wickets. In the next season, he didn't play a single game and again made five appearances in 2024, picking up seven wickets. He wasn't retained by GT in IPL mega auction ahead of 2025 season but was bought back using the Right to Match (RTM) for INR 2 crore ($233,352).

IPL 2025 | Sai Kishore's new carrom ball-like variation could be turning point for left-arm spinners - WATCH

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IPL 2025: Sai Kishore trusts in-form Rashid Khan after GT's latest win, says 'we never doubted him'

IPL 2025 | Sai Kishore's new carrom ball-like variation could be turning point for left-arm spinners - WATCH