IPL 2022, KKR vs GT: Preview, stats, and Fantasy XI
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) square off against a sturdy-looking Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 35th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022. KKR's campaign has gone downhill since their last win over MI. They have lost three games in succession (DC, SRH, and RR). Meanwhile, GT look commanding in their maiden campaign with five wins across six outings. Here is the preview.
The DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai will host this affair. It has been a belter of a wicket this season, averaging close to 180 in the first innings (last five matches). Among bowlers, pacers have managed to notch decent figures of late. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network (3:30 PM IST) and live-streamed on the Hotstar app.
It has been an all-round exhibition by Gujarat Titans instead of an over-reliance on a few. Lately, GT (170/7) thumped CSK (169/5) by three wickets riding on David Miller (94*) and Rashid Khan's (40) fiery shows. Rashid was the stand-in skipper for Hardik Pandya (groin injury). However, there's a good possibility that Pandya would return for this fixture.
The situation is getting a bit haywire for the Knight Riders, given they had three wins and a loss at one stage. Batting-wise, skipper Shreyas Iyer has been the most bankable option so far. The likes of Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, and Andre Russell have to up their act. Sunil Narine, with an economy of 5.04, has looked the best among bowlers.
KKR (probable XI): Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy. GT (probable XI): Matthew Wade (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami.
As per Cricketpedia, Shreyas Iyer's (KKR) last five knocks this season read 85, 28, 54, 10, and 26. Off-spinner Sunil Narine (KKR) has claimed 149 wickets in 141 IPL matches. He averages 24.49. Hardik Pandya (GT) has hammered 228 runs this season at 76.00. He has picked four wickets as well. Pacer Lockie Ferguson (GT) has pocketed eight scalps this season at 25.00.
Fantasy XI (option 1): Sheldon Jackson, Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill, David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson Fantasy XI (option 2): Matthew Wade, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, David Miller, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Mohammed Shami, Lockie Ferguson
