Indian T20 League 2023

KOL vs GUJ, 39th Match

Preview

Kolkata will cross swords with Gujarat in the reverse encounter of the Indian T20 League. The 39th match is scheduled at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on 29th April. The Kolkata side have managed to win only three out of 8 games played so far and are placed in the 7th position in the points table. One of their three wins came against the Gujarat side. Rinku Singh’s heroics in that match is one reason that makes the game unforgettable. Nitish Rana and Co chased 205 runs in that match and Rinku smashed 5 consecutive sixes off the last five balls of the final over to lead his side to a historic win. Kolkata defeated Bangalore in their last game by 21 runs. Kolkata drafted a total of 200 runs and restricted the Bangalore side to 179 runs. 

The Hardik Pandya-led side have been on a winning streak this season and won five out of 7 matches so far. They won their last two matches and their last opponents were the 5 times champion Mumbai. Against Rohit Sharma and co, the defending champions posted 207 runs at the loss of 6 wickets. Shubman Gill reached another 50-run mark and guided his side to a huge total. Also, Abhinav Manohar and David Miller played vital knocks for the Gujarat side. Mumbai managed to recover just 152 runs for a loss of nine wickets resulting in a 55 runs win for the Gujarat side. Noor Ahmed was the most successful bowler as he took 3 wickets giving away only 37 runs. 

Match Details

Match: KOL vs GUJ, 39th Match, IND T20 League 2023

Date: Saturday, April 29, 2023

Time: 03:30 PM

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Pitch and Weather Report

The iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata is one of the biggest venues in India with deep boundaries. It provides a flat wicket and allows batters to play their strokes on the up. There will be some assistance for the fast bowlers in the early stages of the game. Spin bowlers can prove handy during the middle overs and the big boundaries will offer them extra protection to experiment with their lines and lengths. 

Clear skies are forecasted on match day. 

KOL vs GUJ Squads

KOL: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N Jadadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Shakib Al Hasan

GUJ: Hardik Pandya (c), Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Sai Sudharsan, Wriddhiman Saha, Matthew Wade, Rashid Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Vijay Shankar, Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Pradeep Sangwan, Darshan Nalkande, Jayant Yadav, R Sai Kishore, Noor Ahmad, Kane Williamson, Odean Smith, KS Bharat, Shivam Mavi, Urvil Patel, Josh Little, Mohit Sharma

KOL vs GUJ Probable Playing XIs

KOL: N Jagadeesan (wk), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Vaibhav Arora, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

GUJ: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma

Match Prediction

Kolkata gained confidence from their last win and have already defeated Gujarat once this season. Moreover, they will play on their home ground which indicates that they have a greater chance of winning the game against Gujarat. 

Top Fantasy Picks

Jason Roy- He has been involved in just three matches this season and has scored 160 runs at a strike rate of 170.21 and an average of 53.33. The Englishman has smashed fifties in his last two innings.

Varun Chakravarthy- He is the highest wicket-taker for the Kolkata side and has taken 13 wickets in eight matches at an average of 18.38 and an economy of 8.05.

Shubman Gill- The young opener scored another half-century this season in his last match. Till now he has assembled 284 runs in seven games a strike rate of 142.71 and an average of 40.57.

Rashid Khan- He is the best bowler from the Gujarat side. The spin wizard has taken 14 wickets in seven matches at an average of 16.14 and an economy of 8.07.

Risky Captaincy Choice

After his century, Venkatesh Iyer’s form has been diminishing. He has scored 31, 20, and 0 in his last 3 outings and his highest strike rate was 119 among them. But we think that he is an important player in the Kolkata squad and can create a major impact in the game.

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