The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader will see Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) go up against Gujarat Titans (GT) at the DY Patil Sports Academy. The Titans will hope to continue the winning streak and reclaim the top spot while the Knight Riders will be desperate to bounce back and keep them in the fray for the playoffs.

There are problems aplenty for the Kolkata franchise and with senior cricketers misfiring, they are desperate to find solutions. Pat Cummins has had extremely poor outings with the ball, going at an economy rate of 12 runs per over. Both Shivam Mavi and Andre Russell also have an economy of above 10 while Varun Chakravarthy has struggled to pick wickets in the middle overs.

On the batting front, Venkatesh Iyer, one of their retained cricketers, too has failed to hit the straps. Sheldon Jackson also squandered all his opportunities with the bat so far. All in all, KKR stare at plenty of problems and need to find the answers to outsmart GT, who have played some consistent cricket in IPL 2022 so far.

Gujarat Titans will ponder over their skipper Hardik Pandya, who missed the last game with a groin injury. He is expected to return against KKR, which will strengthen the side. However, Vijay Shankar has looked at sea and Gujarat’s opening partnership is a concern. If the other opener alongside Shubman Gill can put up a decent start, GT will look more potent.

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Match Details

Match 35 – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Gujarat Titans (GT)

Venue: Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai

Date & Time: 23rd April at 3:30 PM IST and Local Time

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Pitch Report

The pacers might enjoy bowling on this wicket as has been the case in the last few matches. The team winning the toss is likely to bowl.

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Predicted Playing XI

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy

Gujarat Titans (GT): Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Yash Dayal, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami

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KKR vs GT – Fantasy Team Prediction

Fantasy Team 1: Sheldon Jackson, Aaron Finch, David Miller, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill (c), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell (vc), Hardik Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Rashid Khan

Fantasy Team 2: Sheldon Jackson, Aaron Finch, David Miller, Shreyas Iyer (vc), Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Hardik Pandya (c), Mohammed Shami, Pat Cummins, Rashid Khan, Shivam Mavi

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