Following its second win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, a confident Kolkata Knight Riders will be keen to repeat its complete domination over another opponent, Gujarat Titans, when it hosts the defending champion in an afternoon engagement at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday.
KKR batters’ fine showing, resulting in two 200-plus totals, at the Eden — which has witnessed at least one aggregate in excess of 200 — should motivate the Nitish Rana-led side. The memory of Rinku Singh hammering Yash Dayal to outsmart GT in Ahmedabad should also boost KKR.
Opener Jason Roy’s excellent form and Venkatesh Iyer, Rana and Rinku’s good touch with the bat should assure KKR, which is trying to stay in the playoffs race.
Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma’s spin is KKR’s major weapon.
After beating Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians, GT will try to further strengthen its position among the leading sides.
The in-form Shubman Gill and Wriddhiman Saha at the top and captain Hardik Pandya, Vijay Shankar and David Miller in the middle make GT’s batting formidable.
GT’s bowling — with Mohammed Shami and Mohit Sharma in pace and Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad in spin — is well-armed.
GT will also look to put KKR under pressure with its fielding.
