KKR vs GT Match Preview

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.

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.

Weather Report

Since this is a day game, dew will not be much of a factor here. We are likely to see overcast conditions and some showers during the day. 

Pitch Report

The pitch here is excellent to bat on and has seen high-scoring matches this season. There is a good amount of bounce on offer and the ball comes on nicely to the bat. However, the pitch does slow down as the match progresses and the spinners will come into play in the latter half of the match.

Notable stats

Suyash Sharma's Reliable Bowling

Suyash Sharma has emerged as a reliable spin option for the KKR this season. In his 6 outings, he has picked up 9 wickets and has a bowling strike rate of 16.00.

Team News

There are no updates regarding injuries from either side. 

 

KKR vs GT Probable 11

KKR Playing 11

  • Jason Roy
  • Venkatesh Iyer
  • Nitesh Rana (C)
  • N Jagadeesan (Wk)
  • Sunil Narine
  • Andre Russell
  • Rinku Singh
  • David Weise
  • Vaibhav Arora
  • Umesh Yadav
  • Varun Chakaravarthy

GT Playing 11

  • Shubhman Gill
  • Wriddhiman Saha (Wk)
  • Hardik Pandya (C)
  • Vijay Shankar
  • David Miller
  • Abhinav Manohar
  • Rashid Khan
  • Rahul Tewatia
  • Mohammad Shami
  • Noor Ahmed
  • Mohit Sharma
This is not the official playing 11 for the match. This is a prediction of the expected playing 11 for each team based on the writers analysis.

Dream11 Prediction

We are backing the Gujarat Titans to win here. They have been pretty consistent in their performance and are carrying some good momentum into this game. On the other hand, the Kolkata Knight Riders have struggled to perform and their seam attack appears to be particularly weak. 

The venue for this match, Eden Gardens, is very high-scoring and a strong bowling attack becomes all the more important in such situations.

 

Top Picks

Varun Chakaravarthy: Varun Chakaravarthy is the leading wicket-taker for the KKR this season with 13 wickets. He has taken 7 wickets in his 4 appearances at Eden Gardens and is likely to bowl a good spell here.

Jason Roy: Jason Roy appears to be in excellent touch and has scored 2 half-centuries in his 3 outings. With the type of pitch on offer, we are likely to see another good inning from him.

David Miller: The Eden Gardens is one of the favorite hunting grounds for Miller as he has scored 2 half-centuries in his 6 innings here and has a strike rate of 145.67.

 

KKR vs GT Dream11 Team 1

Keeper: W Saha

Batters: N Rana, S Gill (VC), R Singh, D Miller, J Roy (C)

All-rounders: A Russell

Bowlers: Rashid-Khan, M Shami, V Chakravarthy, M Sharma

KKR vs GT Dream11 Prediction - OCB Team Prediction