Almost three weeks have passed since Rinku Singh's jaw-dropping performance against Gujarat Titans, which proved pivotal in Kolkata Knight Riders' remarkable victory at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Since then, the defending champions have bounced back in style, winning three matches and finding themselves in a comfortable position in the top half of the points table with 10 points. In contrast, the Knight Riders experienced a rocky road, suffering four losses before finally clinching a much-needed victory against Royal Challengers Bangalore. This contrasting tale of ups and downs has added an extra dimension of excitement to today’s match.
Kolkata Knight Riders -
Jason Roy's arrival has bolstered KKR's batting, with his 83-run partnership with N Jagadeesan indicating a promising opening combination. KKR's local players have also contributed, but the team is hoping for more from Andre Russell. However, their pace bowling options have been limited, with only Russell providing solace. Varun Chakaravarthy and Suyash Sharma have been key in their victories, picking up 22 wickets between them. Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson have been expensive, forcing KKR to look for other options.
Gujarat Titans - GT's pacers, including the Indian duo of Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma, have been effective in taking wickets, with 16 scalps between them. Noor Ahmad's recent success has kept Alzarri Joseph out of action in the last few games. Shubman Gill is leading the batting chart for GT, but their overall strike rates have been lower than KKR's batters. GT will hope for a boost from the 2023 trends at the Eden Gardens.
Probable XI:
Gujarat Titans:
Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (C), Vijay Shankar, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma (Impact Sub: Jayant Yadav / Sai Kishore)
Kolkata Knight Riders:
N Jagadeesan (WK), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (C), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy. (Impact sub - Suyash Sharma)
Interesting Match Facts :
- In the two meetings between the sides in IPL, KKR and GT have one match each.
- Nitish Rana (Kolkata Knight Riders) will be making his 100th appearance in IPL.
- Mohit Sharma (Gujarat Titans) is just 2 wickets away from 100 wickets in IPL.
- Hardik Pandya (Gujarat Titans) is 3 wickets away from completing 150 wickets in T20 cricket (overall).
- Lockie Ferguson (Kolkata Knight Riders) is 3 scalps away from completing 150 wickets in T20 Cricket (overall).
- Andre Russell (Kolkata Knight Riders) is 2 fours away from completing 500 fours in T20 Cricket (overall). He is also 5 maximums away from 600 sixes in T20 Cricket (Overall). He is also 5 wickets away from 400 wickets in the shortest format.
(Credits: mykhel.com)
Pitch and Weather report - Out of six innings played so far at the Eden Gardens, four have seen teams scoring more than 200 runs, with the average first innings total being 222. The team batting first has won all three evening matches played at this venue, but it's uncertain if the conditions would change for the upcoming afternoon match.
Date & Time: 29th Apr, 2023 at 3:30 PM IST
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network & Jio Cinema
Dream XI Team:
