IPL 2023, KKR vs GT: Resurgent Gujarat Titans stand in the way of Kolkata Knight Riders revival

A resurgent defending champion Gujarat Titans (GT), boasting a power-packed bowling unit, will come in the way of former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR's) revival hopes when the two teams cross swords in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Saturday. The home side's misfiring campaign finally came on track after it fired in unison to snap its four-match losing streak with a convincing win in Bengaluru.

In a season its Caribbean star duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are yet to fire, the low-profile KKR side, without its regular skipper Shreyas Iyer, may have found a trump card in Jason Roy. The Englishman set the tempo with a fiery half-century for Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and David Wiese to capitalise and set a winning total of 201 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Included only in its sixth season match, Roy scores 43, 61 and 56 in three games, and KKR's batting will once again centre around him. The win lifted KKR to seventh in the 10-team standings, but it still has a long way to go to make the playoffs. From here on, KKR (six points) will have to win at least five of its remaining six matches to assure itself a playoff berth.

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Of the six matches, KKR plays two away games, including one in Chennai, and skipper Rana and coach Chandrakant Pandit will have their task cut out against the Pandya-led defending champion. Pandya has put out a perfect Twenty20 (T20) template, and his ability to seal close matches has caught everyone's eyes, incredibly after it choked Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) while defending a paltry 135/6.

Pandya has been a revelation as a captain since January 2022, winning 23 out of 31 matches with a victory percentage of 76.67. GT (10 points from seven games) have been a well-oiled unit and looks set for a consecutive playoff berth, sitting behind leaders Rajasthan Royals on net run-rate with a match in hand.

The Titans boast of a tempting bowling line-up in India pacer Mohammad Shami, who, along with Pandya, has caused enough flutter in the powerplay. Shami has made it look so easy with the subtle movement of his fingers around the seam at the delivery, and he will relish the challenge when he returns to his 'home ground'.

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Pandya, too, has been cranking up the speed, something he showed while dismissing his former five-time record champion Mumbai Indians (MI) counterpart Rohit Sharma with a 144kph delivery. But, the likes of Rana and in-form Rinku will face the most significant challenge when they are up against the GT spinners, led by the wily Rashid Khan, who has found a new ally in his countrymate Noor Ahmed.

Following the footsteps of Rashid, the 20-year-old left-arm spinner has been relentless, especially in the middle overs. It was on full display when it choked MI to 152 for 9 in its chase of 208, with Noor returning with figures of three for 37 that included the prized scalp of Suryakumar Yadav.

With in-form Shubman Gill (three fifties) at the top and the power-hitting trio of David Miller, Abhinav Manohar and Rahul Tewatia in the bottom half, GT also has a fearless batting unit. It remains to be seen how the KKR spin forces will cope with the challenge of bowling to the Titans, who will also have 'home boy' Wriddhiman Saha looking to fire at the top with Gill.

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Varun Chakravarthy and rookie legspinner Suyash Sharma, who formed a winning combination against RCB, have been sharing the spin workload with veteran Narine going wicketless in five matches. The Pace bowling department also needs to inspire more confidence as KKR is still searching for a perfect combination, with only Umesh Yadav being regular in all eight matches.

They have handed debuts to Vaibhav Arora, Kulwant Khejroliya and David Wiese, while Tim Southee, Lockie Ferguson and Shardul Thakur have all played musical chairs. But none of them, including the veteran Indian pacer Yadav, has impressed. India all-rounder Thakur, however, has a match-winning knock to his name, and KKR might recall him for the tie.

Squads
KKR: Nitish Rana (c), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Aarya Desai.
GT: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R. Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Dasun Shanaka, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Joshua Little and Mohit Sharma.

Match details
Date and day: April 29, 2023 (Saturday)
Venue: Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata
Time: 3.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): JioCinema