Kolkata Knight Riders welcome Gujarat Titans to the Eden Gardens with their season on the line. At one point it looked like both teams were out of contention to even make the play-offs, but both head into the game after a fantastic second half of the campaign.
Gujarat are already in the playoffs and need only a win to secure their place. Things looked bleak as they won just three of their first seven games, but have since gone on a five-game winning streak. Kolkata also had just one point from their first six matches before giving their fans some hope with four wins in their last five matches.
But their playoff chances are hanging in the balance after an even performance against RCB in Raipur. While a loss to GT won’t mathematically eliminate them, Kolkata will then have to rely on other results to win their last two matches.
KKR are back at the Eden Gardens after a month of travel and will face one of the best when it comes to away matches. GT won four of the six away matches, all thanks to sensational bowling.
Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada were the kings of power bowling this season Jason Holder, Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan continue to do good work.
Kolkata will have their work cut out for them and will also have to hope that the rain gods are kind to them as their see-saw season hangs in the balance.
GT will try to stick to its proven formula and will not be ready to change anything. For KKR, the big concern is Varun Chakravarthy’s fitness.
The spinner missed the loss against RCB due to a small hairline fracture in his left leg. He trained on the eve of the match, but his availability for the match will be known only at the time of the throw-in.
WILL RAHANE PROVIDE?
There has been a lot of talk about Ajinkya Rahane and how he fits into this KKR side. While the Kolkata skipper soon released statistics about his strike tally and how people are retaliating against him, things haven’t been great for him so far.
In 11 matches this season, Rahane has scored two ducks and two other single-figure scores, managing to go past 20 on only four occasions. Kolkata Knight Riders have also struggled to make quick starts, crossing the 50-run mark only six times in the power play – the joint-fewest of any team. Rahane himself scored a strike rate of just 131.19 in the first six overs.
This has put pressure on other KKR starters this season, leading to them losing their wickets early in the chase for runs.
Fin Allen only scored a hundred when he got out of the over, but apart from that the New Zealand opener showed signs of firepower to get out quickly.
So for KKR to shoot down the Siraj-Rabad combination up front, they will need their skipper to respond big time and with a score.
SUNDAR DOUGH
It seems to be a well-known case that GTs are heavily dependent on their trio. A little too much actually. Shubman Gill, Jos Buttler and Sai Sudharsan have contributed a combined 1323 runs this season.
And GT doesn’t mind. But to win games consistently, you need a middle order general who can control the pace.
Enter Washington Sundar. He is not the first name that springs to mind in the IPL when it comes to a player with the quality to anchor the important No.4 role, but he has done just that for Gujarat this season.
Sundar enjoyed his most productive IPL season with the bat, scoring 296 runs in 12 innings. His strike rate of 152.57 further highlighted his impact in the middle order. He was also particularly effective at the death, amassing 121 runs in 17 to 20 overs – the fourth highest in the league this season – at an impressive 180.59.
If GT is to continue its march to a second title, then Sundar’s role will be magnified with plenty of match situations where he will be thrust into the limelight.
KKR vs GT: HEAD-TO-HEAD
KKR and GT have met six times in the IPL with Gujarat having a clear 4-1 advantage. One game was dropped. At the start of the season, GT almost missed out on an easy chase, but eventually got over the line in Ahmedabad.
KKR vs GT: PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS KOLKATA
The pitch on the eve of the match looked like a belter with lots of runs. While the last match at Eden took place almost a month ago, we can expect the track to be one where teams look to bowl first and then chase the target.
Now comes the big one. Weather. On the eve of the match, there was a strong wind and rain. Things are looking bright at the moment and according to accuweather the chance of rain is expected to be low.
However, expect cloudy weather to prevail on Saturday.
KKR vs GT: PREDICTED PLAYING XIS
KKR predicted playing XI: Finn Allen, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Manish Pandey, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Vaibhav Arora. Crash Submarine: Saurabh Dubey/Varun Chakravarthy
GT Predicted Playing XI: Shubman Gill (capt), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Jason Holder, Nishant Sindhu, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Arshad Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj. Crash Submarine: Prasidh Krishna/R Sai Kishore
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– The end
Published on:
16 May 2026 11:52 IST
