Watch cricket video highlights between Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans. Indian Premier League 2024 sixty third match, played at Ahmedabad.
In Ahmedabad this season, the side batting second has prevailed in four of the six games. Captains may wish to chase because the dew has made an appearance on many occasions. That being said, GT won their most recent game by putting up a big score while batting first. This season, the average first-inning score at this location is 175. B The one constant in GT’s otherwise patchy top order has been Sai Sudharsan. With 527 runs in 12 innings, he is the leading run scorer for GT and will look to extend his relationship with the Ahmedabad venue, where he averages over 50 and has three half-centuries and a century in 12 IPL appearances.
For Varun Chakravarthy, it has been an IPL of two halves. He only had eight wickets at an economy rate of 9.72 and an average of 35.25 in the first eight games. He has taken ten wickets at 8.50 and 5.66 in his next four overs. After going on a recent rampage, he is now ranked third among wicket-takers, only two spots behind the 20-year-olds Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel. Varun has an opportunity to earn the purple cap now that Bumrah and Harshal’s clubs, the Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings, have been eliminated.
In their most recent game, KKR substituted Vaibhav Arora for Nitish Rana, and they may do it again. Apart from that, Gurbaz may definitely come in for Salt, unless they choose to save it for the inevitable. GT has made some rather erratic choices. They are the squad with the most players employed in the competition, having used 23 thus far. However, after a convincing victory in their most recent match, they may believe they have found the ideal equilibrium. They may stick with the B Sai Sudharsan-Shubman Gill opening stand even if Wriddhiman Saha is fit because it performed so well. One of Sandeep Warrier or R Sai Kishore might replace Sai Sudharsan as an impact sub, depending on the surface.
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), who defeated the Mumbai Indians on Saturday night to secure their postseason berth, have made a swift recovery. They are leaders of the table, but they are not yet guaranteed a top-two finish. KKR will aim to finish seventh when they visit Ahmedabad, having placed seventh in the past two IPL seasons. Right at the top is the main factor for KKR’s success this season. At a scoring rate of more than 10, each of their top four wickets has accumulated more than 300 runs. This is the first IPL ever. The opening duo of Phil Salt and Sunil Narine, who have combined for six 50+ opening partnerships in 12 innings at an average of 46.58 and 12.46, have been crucial. Salt, however, is departing soon, so that will come to an end shortly for KKR.
Not just the hitters in the top order, though. Four batsmen for KKR, Andre Russell, Narine, and Ramandeep Singh, have scored more than 100 runs with a strike rate of more than 180 in the IPL 2024. Sunrisers Hyderabad, who did it in 2024, is the only other side to have accomplished this in an IPL season. How about the bowling, too? Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Narine, and Russell are the four members of KKR who have taken at least 15 wickets at sub-21 averages, which is also a first in the IPL. But how does GT match up with the batters? Rashid Khan could have the solution.
He has a respectable record while facing the majority of KKR hitters. In every T20 match, he has bowled Narine 25 balls and twice removed him from the game. Salt played Rashid once in the Hundred, when he fell on the first ball, but he hasn’t faced him in the IPL. The Iyers have performed somewhat better against Rashid; Venkatesh has fallen to him only once in three innings, while Shreyas has been removed twice in ten innings despite striking at just 107.79 in the IPL. In the IPL, Rashid has removed Russell three times in twenty-four deliveries, and Russell’s average against him is at 8.0. However, Rahmanullah Gurbaz could be useful in this situation.
Salt will miss the playoffs in order to train for the T20 World Cup for England, but KKR may decide to make the swap immediately, starting Gurbaz as the top keeper-batter and giving him a few games instead of bringing him in for the postseason straight away. With 30 runs off of 11 balls against Rashid in the IPL without being out, Gurbaz has an incredible record against him. GT is presently ranked ninth in the standings, and although they are still in the running for the playoffs, the going gets very tough.
