The partnership of Gill and Sai Sudarsan both scored centuries in the last game, laying the foundation for a formidable total and underlining their importance to the Titans as they prepare to face KKR, the first team to secure a spot in the playoffs.
The competition is even fiercer with seven teams still vying for a playoff spot. While Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings are firmly in the top three spots, Sunrisers Hyderabad and the trio of Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants are still in contention, 12 points each.
Gujarat Titans currently have 10 points and to advance, they face an uphill battle to maximize their points while dealing with a negative net rating. While their chances looked slim, the Titans were determined to overcome the odds, knowing that only a remarkable performance would keep their mathematical hopes alive.
Head to Head:
Gujarat Titans have the upper hand against Kolkata Knight Riders, registering two wins in their last three games against KKR.
Promotion report:
Ahmedabad provides equal opportunities to batsmen and bowlers. The last time Gujarat played at this venue, fans witnessed a high-scoring thriller. Gill’s team batted first and ended up scoring 231/3. The two openers Gill and Sai Sudarshan scored a hundred each. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) failed to catch up and scored just 196/8 in 20 overs.
Ground history of IPL 2024:
With six games played at this venue, the dynamics favored batting first and batting second. The team batting second has won four times, while the team batting first has won twice. This balance shows that the course provides opportunities for setting goals and chasing them.
The average score in the first innings was 175, which shows that the stadium provides a platform for competitive scoring. However, the team batting second successfully chased down the target, averaging 171 in the second innings, underlining the venue’s reputation as conducive to thrilling run chases.
Key person; main force; important member:
Sunil Narine: KKR’s veteran Narine has performed well this season. The Caribbean all-rounder has scored 461 runs in his opening batting. Even though KKR are in the knockout stages, Narine is hoping to contribute more.
Phil Salter: Another KKR opener who often grabs the headlines is Phil Salt. In 12 games, the wicketkeeper-batsman scored a total of 435 runs.
Syed Sudarsan: The flamboyant left-hander from Gujarat has been in excellent form this season. Young Sai scored 527 points in 12 games, averaging 47.91 points per game.
Squad:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat (wk), Rahmanullah Gubaz (wk), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer , Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunilkatine, Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Allah Ghazanfar and Phil Salt.
Titans of Gujarat: Shubman Gill (c), David Miller, Matthew Wade, Viriddhiman Saha, Kane Williamson, Abhinav Manohar, B. Sai Sudharsan , Darshan Narkande, Vijay Shankar, Jayant Yadav, Rahul Tewatia, Noor Ahmed, Syed Kishore, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Azmatullah Omarzai, Umesh Yadav, Shahrukh Khan, Sushant Mishra, Kartik Tyagi, Manav Suthar, Spencer Johnson, Sandeep Warrier and BR Sharath.
Dream11 Fantasy Team:
Goalkeeper: Phil Salter
Batsmen: Shubman Gill, Sai Sudarsan, Nitish Rana
All-rounders: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Shah Rukh Khan
Pitchers: Varun Chakravarthy, Joshua Little, Harshit Rana
As Gujarat Titans prepare for a crucial clash against Kolkata Knight Riders, they understand the enormity of the task ahead. They must summon their best cricket yet and push for an outright victory to maintain their improbable playoff bid.
