Playoffs spot in the bag, it might be Gurbaz time for KKR against struggling Titans – T20 IPL 2024

Match details

Gujarat Titans (8th; W5, L7) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (1st; W9, L3) Ahmedabad, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)

Big picture – Rashid might be GT’s best hope

It’s a quick turnaround for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who on Saturday night confirmed a spot in the playoffs with a win over Mumbai Indians. But, table-toppers though they are, they aren’t assured of a top-two finish yet. After finishing seventh in each of the last two seasons of the IPL, that will be KKR’s target when they go to Ahmedabad.

The primary reason for KKR’s success this season is right at the top. Each of their top four wickets has added 300-plus runs at a scoring rate of over 10. It’s a first in the IPL. Openers Sunil Narine and Phil Salt have been key – they have had six 50-plus opening partnerships in 12 innings, averaging 46.58 and going at 12.46. Unfortunately for KKR, Salt will be leaving soon, so that will end soon.

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But it’s not just the top-order batters. KKR have four batters – Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Salt and Narine – who have scored 100-plus runs at a strike rate of 180-plus in IPL 2024. The only other team to do this in any IPL season is Sunrisers Hyderabad, also in 2024.

And what about the bowling? KKR have four – Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Narine and Russell – who have taken 15 or more wickets at sub-21 averages – also a first in the IPL.

How do GT counter the batters, though?

He has a decent record against most of the KKR batters. He has bowled 25 balls to Narine in all T20s and dislodged him twice. Salt hasn’t faced Rashid in the IPL, but played him once in the Hundred where he fell first ball. The Iyers have fared marginally better against Rashid – Shreyas has been dismissed twice in ten innings by Rashid but strikes at only 107.79 in the IPL against him, while Venkatesh has fallen to him only once in three innings. Russell has been dismissed by Rashid three times in 24 balls in the IPL and averages just 8.0 against him.

With Salt set to miss the playoffs to prepare for the T20 World Cup for England, KKR could make the switch right away, slot in Gurbaz as the keeper-batter at the top, and give him a few games rather than shuttle him in directly for the playoffs. Gurbaz has a stellar record against Rashid, having hit him for 30 runs off 11 balls in the IPL without being dismissed.

GT are currently eighth on the points table, and while they are not out of the playoffs race yet, it looks very tough.

Form guide

Gujarat Titans WLLLW (last five completed games, most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders WWWWL

Team news and Impact Player strategy

Gujarat Titans
GT have been very inconsistent with their selections. They have used 23 players so far in the tournament, the most for any team. But having won their last game comprehensively, they might feel they have struck the right balance. The B Sai Sudharsan-Shubman Gill opening stand worked wonders, and they might go with the same even if Wriddhiman Saha is fit. Depending on the surface, one of R Sai Kishore and Sandeep Warrier could come in as an impact sub for Sai Sudharsan.

Likely XII: 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Shahrukh Khan, 4 David Miller, 5 Matthew Wade (wk), 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 Rashid Khan, 8 Noor Ahmad, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Kartik Tyagi, 12 Sandeep Warrier/R Sai Kishore

Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR had Vaibhav Arora swapping for Nitish Rana in their last game and could do the same. That aside, of course, Gurbaz could come in for Salt, unless they want to leave that for when they have to do it.

Likely XII: 1 Phil Salt/Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Venkatesh Iyer, 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rinku Singh, 8 Ramandeep Singh, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Varun Chakravarthy, 11 Harshit Rana, 12 Vaibhav Arora

In the spotlight – B Sai Sudharsan and Varun Chakravarthy

B Sai Sudharsan has been the shining star in GT’s otherwise inconsistent top order. The highest run-getter for GT with 527 runs in 12 innings, he will hope to continue his love affair with the Ahmedabad stadium, where he has scored three half-centuries and a century in 12 outings in the IPL and averages over 50.

It’s been an IPL of two chunks for Varun Chakravarthy. In the first eight games, he had only eight wickets at an average of 35.25 and an economy rate of 9.72. In his next four, he’s picked ten wickets at 8.50 and 5.66. His recent spree has taken him up to third on the wicket-takers’ list, just two behind Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel, both on 20. With Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, Bumrah and Harshal’s teams respectively, knocked out, Varun has a shot at winning the purple cap.

Stats that matter

GT have the lowest run rate in the powerplay of all the teams: 7.72; KKR, meanwhile, have the second-highest: 11.04
GT have hit the least number of sixes in the tournament so far: 67; KKR have hit almost double that: 125
Gill has fallen to Narine twice in 13 balls in T20s, averaging just 6.5. But David Miller has fared better against Narine in T20s with 95 runs in 72 balls and just one dismissal
Nitish Rana has an average of 95.0 against Rashid in the IPL, having struck him for 95 runs in 76 balls and been dismissed just once

Pitch and conditions

The team batting second has won four out of six games in Ahmedabad this season. The dew has made its presence felt more than once, and could be the reason behind captains wanting to chase. Having said that, GT won their last game batting first and piling on a huge score. The average first-innings score this season here is 175.

Ashish Pant is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo

Source: ESPN Crickinfo