Overview
After a string of losses, Kolkata Knight Riders had a timely boost with a hard-fought win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. To leapfrog a few teams on the points table, they will need more such collective performance. In the game against Bangalore, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma made key contributions. But they need more from some of the senior pros, especially the West Indian duo of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell.
Russell bowled a gutsy spell, using his hit-the-deck skills to keep the opponent in check. But with the bat in hand, he has put on a rather disappointing show so far. Meanwhile, Narine hasn’t taken a single wicket since picking up three against Gujarat Titans almost three weeks ago. Umesh Yadav too has struggled to bowl incisively, having taken a solitary scalp in eight matches.
Kolkata have a few other problems to sort out as well. Roy’s opening partner – N Jagadeesan – has compiled just 70 runs and his strike rate is a touch over 106. In Kolkata’s last game, on a good pitch for batting, he could score only 27 off 29 balls. To make matters worse, Litton Das, one of the options to open the batting, has returned home for family reasons. Kolkata can still rejig the batting order by asking Venkatesh Iyer to open, with Jagadeesan being used as a floater.
On the other hand, Gujarat are sitting pretty at second position in the table. David Miller and Shubman Gill have been the two mainstays of the batting order, carrying out different responsibilities with distinction. Rahul Tewatia and Abhinav Manohar have provided the impetus lower down the order. Gujarat also have an enviable bowling line-up, with almost all bases covered. Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Alzarri Joseph, Mohit Sharma and company provide both pace and control, while Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad offer variety and wicket-taking options in the spin department. Hardik’s captaincy too has made a difference to the side.
Venue and Time
Eden Gardens, Kolkata. 3.30 PM
Expected conditions and toss
It is an afternoon game, and there could be a little more assistance for the spinners as the match progresses. That could mean the team winning the toss contemplating whether to bat first. As per the weather forecast, there is little or no chance of rain.
Head-to-head
Both teams have won one game each.
Impact Player and Possible XIs
Suyash could once again be used as a trump card. Mandeep Singh might also be employed as the impact player. For Gujarat, Joshua Little, Dasun Shanaka and Srikar Bharat offer Impact Player options.
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Hardik Pandya (C), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Noor Ahmad.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Jason Roy, N Jagadeesan (WK), Nitish Rana (C), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, David Wiese, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy