Pitch Report | Eoin Morgan:What we see here is very, very Eden Gardens-like. We have a look down at this surface and there's a magnificent covering of grass particularly as we move down towards the good length and short of a length. That means that the ball will show really consistent bounce and pace. Remember, we've seen a bit if swing around here at the Eden Gardens, particularly in those first overs of the powerplay. The likes of Vaibhav Arora has been a great exponent and I'm sure we'll see that early on. Normally at Eden Gardens, if you don't see a even covering of grass, you might see a hint of turn. I don't think it'll turn a great deal tonight. It's going to be a challenge for the spinners and it's going to be a high run-scoring game but the ball will swing around.
The Eden Gardens pitch has been a major talking point this season. There was almost nothing on offer for the bowlers in the previous match at this venue and 472 runs were scored (238 vs 234) in that KKR vs LSG encounter.
Kolkata Knight Riders have blown hot and cold; their season so far - LWLWLWL. If that pattern continues, they'll secure a win tonight, however they'll be eager to string a few wins on the bounce. KKR lost just two out of the seven home games in the previous season but have already lost two out of three this year. The defending champions will be playing after a pretty long break, so they would have had ample time to reflect on their shocking loss at the hands of Punjab Kings where they collapsed from 62/2 to 95/10 while chasing a paltry target of 112. They have a well-oiled bowling attack but their batting has let them down on multiple occasions. They stuttered after an excellent start vs RCB, got bundled out for 116 against MI, lost their way in a big run-chase vs LSG despite being ahead of the rate for majority of the innings and then choked against Punjab.
Gujarat Titans are sitting pretty at the top of the points table with five wins in seven matches. Their top three - Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler - have done the bulk of the scoring. At least one of them has scored a fifty in every game this season so far. Sudharsan is currently the second highest run-getter of IPL 2025 (just 3 runs behind Pooran), Buttler is fifth in the chart and Gill is no stranger to Kolkata. Apart from these three, there have been some impactful contributions from others as well. Sherfane Rutherford is averaging 40.20 this season at a SR of 155.81, Shahrukh Khan and Washington Sundar have played one crucial cameo apiece and Rahul Tewatia showed his finishing skills against DC on Saturday. In the bowling department, Kagiso Rabada's absence hasn't been a big issue for them. Prasidh Krishna has been bowling superbly, picking crucial wickets almost every game and is currently the Purple Cap holder with 14 wickets in 7 matches. If there's one area of concern, it's Rashid Khan's form who has picked just 4 wickets this season so far and his economy rate is close to 10RPO.
18:20 Local Time, 12:50 GMT, 18:20 IST: Hello everyone and a warm welcome to Game 39 of the Indian Premier League. It's East vs West. #7 vs #1. Inconsistent Kolkata Knight Riders vs consistent Gujarat Titans. The head-to-head record is 2-1 in favour of the 2022 champions. The iconic Eden Gardens is the battleground for this clash. What's in store tonight?
IPL 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders v Gujarat Titans: Preview
Preview
The defending champions have had anything but a smooth start to the 2025 season. It's never easy to defend a title successfully, more so when a mega auction has happened few months after the title-winning season. Losing players is inevitable and there was also this hotly debated move to not retain their trophy-winning skipper Shreyas Iyer. KKR also had lost their mentor Gautam Gambhir who took over as the head coach of the men's senior team. Amidst all this, add the spice of not getting their preferred surfaces at home - a story that has been happening for a while now - and you get a whole messy picture.
At their halfway point of the campaign, KKR have three wins and four losses, a slightly below-average first half of the season. However, they'd know that they can still turn things around as momentum is a volatile term in T20 cricket, it can turn around at any moment. For that, though, the batting will need to show more flexibility. The one major problem with KKR's batting line-up is their obvious vulnerability against spin bowling. Apart from Sunil Narine (who is a spin slogger) and Venkatesh Iyer, the other batters aren't comfortable starters against spin.
This problem has caused them trouble already as witnessed in their historic choke against PBKS, a game that recorded the lowest ever IPL total to be successfully defended. It is a kind of defeat that can damage the morale and unless they find a stop-gap solution, things could get worse. The lower middle order has underperformed heavily and this is another area that KKR will need to address as they head into the business end of the season. Their spin attack, however, remains formidable and is one of their lone bright spots this season so far.
The defending champions will face a big test as they take on the Gujarat Titans who have statistically been the best players of spin this season by a country mile. This sets up for an epic battle that could virtually decide the contest.
The Titans have had a smooth ride so far with five wins from seven games and look primed to book a playoff berth in the coming week or so. Even with skipper Shubman Gill yet to go full throttle, GT have performed admirably with the bat thanks to the stupendous form of Jos Buttler and Sai Sudharsan. The top-order has done bulk of the job and it has meant that their lower middle order hasn't really been tested a great deal. They do, however, have a lot of firepower in the tank if needed. In the bowling department, Rashid Khan, just like Gill, has been patchy but the other bowlers have come to the party.
GT's strength has been the efforts of their pace bowlers, notably Prasidh Krishna who has had a standout season till this point. Mohammed Siraj has also delivered in a few games while Sai Kishore has shouldered the responsibility of being the wicket-taking spinner with his senior partner Rashid having a lean patch. In terms of form, team composition and morale, the Titans are heavy favourites in this clash but KKR have quite a few superstars whose individual brilliance can take apart any opposition on their day.
Head-to-Head: KKR 1-2-GT
When: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans, Match 39, IPL 2025, 7.30 PM IST
Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
What to expect: Pitches have generally been good for batting with good pace and carry on offer. The short boundary dimensions have further enhanced powerhitting, like in recent seasons. The only aberration was the clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad as the pitch in that contest had something in it for the spinners. KKR have been vocal about getting those kind of tracks at home but whether they will get their wish is anybody's guess. Also, with Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore in the opposition ranks, a proper turner might be a recipe for disaster.
Team news
Kolkata Knight Riders
Injuries/Unavailability: No injuries or availability issues have been reported for KKR.
Tactics and Matchups: Sunil Narine has dismissed Shubman Gill twice in 12 deliveries, conceding just 13 runs in the bargain. The West Indian has also managed to keep Jos Buttler quiet, conceding just 61 runs off 57 balls with one dismissal. Given the latter's terrific matchup stats against the other KKR bowlers, including Varun Chakaravarthy, and GT's overdependence on their top order, Narine will be a key figure in this contest.
Probable XII: Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock(wk), Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Gujarat Titans
Injury/Unavailability: Kagiso Rabada continues to be unavailable after flying home for a personal emergency.
Tactics and Matchups:
Gujarat Titans have the best average (52.37) and strike rate (162.4) against spin for any team this season. They also have the best cumulative average (49.72) by any team's top-three this year. How they line-up against the best spin attack of IPL 2025 will be crucial. Jos Buttler will be a key figure, not just due to his stellar form but also due to his extremely favourable strike rate matchup against KKR's bowlers. His strike-rate against Chakaravarthy is 190 while it shoots up to 212.50 against Anrich Nortje and 215.78 against Andre Russell. The former England captain also has two IPL centuries against the defending champions, both at this venue.
Probable XII: Shubman Gill(c), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler(wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Arshad Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma/Washington Sundar
Did you know?
*KKR tops the list for best economy by spin attacks (6.51 RPO) and are the only team to not to concede at 8 RPO or above
*GT's top-three has aggregated 69.86 of their team's runs this season (excluding extras).
*Jos Buttler has two tons and a fifty from seven innings at Eden Gardens and has a strike rate of 165, significantly higher than his career IPL SR of 148.74.
What they said
"Everyone knows that Shubman (Gill) is a world class batter. When
things get difficult, he always makes runs." - Rahul Tewatia is fully confident of his skipper striking form soon.
"We played bad cricket as a batting unit.I take this responsibility as
a captain as wecouldn't chase this down. But individually, I am sure
all the players, especially batters,will think about their own game and
improve in the upcoming matches." Ajinkya Rahane is honest about his team's mistakes.
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Quinton de Kock(w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakaravarthy, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Luvnith Sisodia, Chetan Sakariya, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson, Mayank Markande, Anukul Roy, Rovman Powell, Moeen Ali, Manish Pandey
Gujarat Titans Squad: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayant Yadav, Dasun Shanaka, Washington Sundar, Mahipal Lomror, Karim Janat, Kulwant Khejroliya, Anuj Rawat, Gerald Coetzee, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu
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