In the Eliminator contest at the Barkatullah Khan Stadium here on Monday, the Kings' batters out-muscled the Giants by chasing down a 195-run target in 18.3 overs to register a six-wicket win.
Playing against each other in their league stage match, Gujarat Giants' Chris Gayle hit a 40-ball 68 that included nine boundaries and three sixes while Yusuf Pathan played a match-winning knock of 39 off 18 balls. He slammed four sixes and a boundary.
Mitchell Johnson's incident took place during the qualifier match between India Capitals and Bhilwara Kings where Johnson got engaged in a verbal exchange with Bhilwara Kings' batsman Yusuf Pathan and was seen pushing the latter away before the umpires intervened.
The Tigers bowed out despite winning the match by three wickets. That is because though they finished on the same number of points -- 5 -- as the Gujarat Giants, an inferior net run rate meant they finished at the bottom of the four-team table.
Virender Sehwag-led Gujarat Giants have the likes of destructive batters Chris Gayle and Tilakaratne Dilshan in their line-up while Irfan Pathan's Bhilwara Kings also consist of big names of the game including Yusuf Pathan and S Sreesanth.
It was Gambhir who won the toss and elected to bowl first. Ryder opened the Tigers' innings along with Tatenda Taibu. The New Zealander looked comfortable during his stay at the crease, but the same could not be said about the former Zimbabwe captain.