Kolkata Knight Riders host Gujarat Titans in match 39 of IPL 2023 on Saturday. Here's our D3 guide for the KKR vs GT contest.
Date: 29th April 2023
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Rashid Khan (GT) [Captain]: The best T20 spinner in the world by some distance, Rashid Khan has been outstanding in the IPL 2023. He has been expensive at over 8rpo but has taken 14 wickets from seven innings. He is averaging 16.14 and striking every 12 balls. The leg-spinner is a key player for Gujarat Titans in middle and even at the back end. Rashid remains our best captaincy option for this contest.
Andre Russell (KKR): Kolkata Knight Riders rely on Andre Russell heavily. The all-rounder hasn’t had a great tournament but has shown his value on a few occasions. He snared 3 for 22 against Sunrisers Hyderabad and picked 2 for 29 in the most recent game. Russell has also had a couple of 30+ scores. His T20 numbers are terrific and he remains a solid pick on D3.
David Miller (GT): The South African power-hitter hasn’t had a great amount of game-time in the season but has still made an impact. Miller has scored 148 runs in six innings at an average of 49 while striking at 146. He was excellent against Mumbai Indians in the previous outing, scoring 46 runs in just 22 balls. Buy a Miller rario card and you could win great rewards.
Andre Russell (All-rounder) (Gold Tier) – Ask Price $52
David Miller (Bowler) (Silver Tier) – Ask Price $10
Kolkata Knight Riders: Jason Roy, N Jagadeesan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, David Wiese, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Joshua Little, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad
The defending champions Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders are set to face off in this return fixture at Eden Gardens on Saturday, April 29. KKR had come out victorious in the earlier encounter in a dramatic finish and GT will be eager to avenge that.
KKR have six points to their name, having won three and lost five matches. They need to win five of the remaining six games and their net run-rate of -0.027 needs improvement. GT have 10 points at the halfway mark with five wins from seven games. Titans also have a healthy net run-rate of 0.580.
The Knight Riders broke their streak of four losses with a 21-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore away from home. Jason Roy smashed 56 in 29 deliveries while Nitish Rana struck 48 off 21 as they posted 200/5. KKR spinners changed the game yet again with Suyash Sharma picking two and Varun Chakravarthy claiming three scalps. Andre Russell also bagged two wickets.
Gujarat Titans hammered Mumbai Indians by 55 runs in their most recent fixture. Shubman Gill made 56 in 34 at the top while David Miller blasted 46 off 22. Abhinav Manohar also struck a 21-ball 42 as they finished on 207/6. The Afghanistan spin duo was exceptional, with Noor Ahmad picking 3 for 37 and Rashid Khan snaring 2 for 27.
