KKR defeated Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium the last time they faced each other thanks to Rinku Singh’s five sixes in the last over.
The ongoing season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has commenced its reverse fixtures, and in the 39th match, Kolkata Knight Riders will host the Gujarat Titans. In their previous encounter, Rinku Singh played a pivotal role as he hammered five sixes in the final over to lead KKR to a thrilling victory. However, both teams have undergone significant changes since then. KKR has had a difficult run, losing four consecutive matches before finally securing a win against RCB. To keep their hopes alive of making it to the top four, KKR must maintain their winning momentum in this match.
Meanwhile, the Gujarat Titans have been performing well and are currently in third place with 10 points from 8 matches. They recently enjoyed a resounding victory over Mumbai Indians by 55 runs and had also won against LSG by 7 runs before that. This match presents a favorable opportunity for them to secure a hat-trick of wins and take the lead in the points table. A win for KKR in this game will significantly boost their chances of qualifying for the playoffs. Given the closely contested history between these teams, it is expected that this match will be another exciting and closely-fought encounter.
Match: IPL 2023, Match 39
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Time: 3:30 PM IST
Probable Playing XIs
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
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.
Pitch and Weather Report
The surface at Eden Gardens has been producing high-scoring matches this season. In all three matches played at the venue, scores well above 200 have been posted, with an average of 222. Moreover, in all three matches, the team batting first has emerged victorious. Given that this is an afternoon game, the team winning the toss may opt to bat first and take advantage of the favorable batting conditions.
