IPL 2026, GT vs KKR: Dissecting key player battles
What's the story
Gujarat Titans (GT) will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 25 of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The game will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday. Both teams are coming into this match with different momentum. While GT are on a two-match winning streak after losing thier first two games, KKR are the only team without a win this season (4 defeats, 1 NR). Here we decode the anticipated player battles.
#1
Jos Buttler vs Sunil Narine
Eyes will be on star GT batter Jos Buttler, who made fifties in each of his last two outings. His battle with KKR's mystery spinner Sunil Narine would be enticing. Though the Englishman has fallen to Narine just thrice across 19 T20 meetings, as per ESPNcricinfo, the batter has a poor strike rate of 107.95 in this battle. Meanwhile, Narine's economy this season is a stellar 6.86.
#2
Cameron Green vs Rashid Khan
Cameron Green has so far not been able to justify his ₹25.2 crore price tag. In the upcoming game, the KKR star will be up against ace GT leg-spinner Rashid Khan in the middle overs. Though Green is known to tackle spinners well, he has averaged just 14 with the bat this year. On the other hand, Rashid has returned with just five wickets across four games. His economy rate is a sensational 6.87.
#3
Finn Allen vs Mohammed Siraj
The first few overs of the KKR innings could witness a fierce battle between KKR opener Finn Allen and GT fast bowler Mohammed Siraj. Though the former has struck at 192.85 in IPL 2026, an average of 16.20 underlines his inconsistency. He has had a hard time against right-arm pacers, who swing the ball away from him with the new ball. Siraj, who has taken three wickets from four games this season, could exploit this weakness.