KKR vs GT 39th Match Prediction

KKR vs GT Team Previews

Kolkata Knight Riders

After securing a famous win against the Gujarat Titans earlier this month, things suddenly went downhill for the Kolkata Knight Riders as they lost 4 matches on the trot. However, they did manage to halt the losing streak by defeating the Royal Challengers in their latest outing.

In the absence of Shreyas Iyer, the team did seem a bit lacking in the batting department. But the entry of Jason Roy has lent significant strength to the top order. Roy has scored 2 half-centuries in his 3 outings and will be looking to continue with his good form. He is, however, a player that can be quite inconsistent.

The middle order looks pretty strong too, as Venkatesh Iyer and Nitesh Rana have scored consistently. Rinku Singh, who was instrumental in defeating the Titans during their last head-to-head encounter (miraculous may be a better word??) and has only improved since then.

We don't think having Jagadeesan at the top of the order is a good option as he can struggle with strike rate and put pressure on the others.

The team does feel a bit out of depth in the lower order as Andre Russell and Sunil Narine haven’t performed to their full potential. Russel, in particular has not got the time he needs in the middle either.

In the bowling department, the spinners have done an excellent job for their team. Varun Chakaravarthy has picked up 13 wickets so far, while Suyash Sharma and Sunil Narine have scalped 15 between them. This season has been the most expensive for Sunil Narine so far in his IPL career. He looks a bit short of confidence but young Suyash Sharma seems to be a perfect fit for this level.

The seamers meanwhile have struggled. Shardul Thakur has picked up just 2 wickets in 5 matches, while Umesh Yadav has managed just 1 in his 8 outings. In such a scenario, the Knights will depend on their batting to lead the way here. 

Gujarat Titans

The defending Champions have been one of the most consistent teams this season too and find themselves comfortably in the top-4 of the points table.

One of the biggest features of the Titans’ success so far is that almost all players have contributed in their way to take the team this far. While Shubhman Gill remains the mainstay of the top-order batting, he has received good support from Wriddhiman Saha, Sai Sudharsan, and Vijay Shankar.

Hardik Pandya has batted at number three in the past couple of matches and that is not really a bad thing. It allows him to set the tone of the inning before the spin-hitters come in later during the match.

David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, and Rahul Tewatia all played brilliantly in the team’s last match, and overall, the team's batting appears in good shape. It was a welcome sight to see the Gujarat Titans raise their strike-rate a bit. That is something that they will need to do in this match as well as the Eden Gardens is a very high-scoring venue.

Their bowling attack is pretty well-balanced too. In fact, GT has perhaps the best bowling attack in the entire tournament.

Rashid Khan is the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 14 wickets, while Noor Ahmed bowled a brilliant spell, taking 3 wickets in the last match. Mohammad Shami has been excellent with the new ball, while Mohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya have been quite economical.

Mohit Sharma has been especially good at bowling the death overs. The Gujarat Titans seem to have struck the right combination of players and are a force to reckon with. There is so much variety and depth in this bowling attack that GT remains competitive even when it has score 10-15 runs short of what can be considered a good total.