Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans Predicted Playing XIs for Match 39 of IPL 2023
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will take on the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 39 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at Eden Gardens on Saturday, April 29.
The Titans are placed second in the standings with five wins from seven matches and could reach the summit with a win. The Knight Riders, on the other hand, have managed only three wins thus far this year and need to find some momentum.
The last time the two teams met in the league, Kolkata ran out winners off the final ball as Rinku Singh hammered five sixes in a row off Yash Dayal. However, the home side will know that they will need to play out of their skins to beat the defending champions.
Here are the predicted playing XIs for both teams for Match 39 of IPL 2023 between KKR and GT.
Note: Playing XIs are bound to vary majorly in IPL 2023, with the introduction of the impact player rule as well as captains having the chance to name their side after the result of the toss is known.
KKR vs GT: KKR Predicted Playing 11 vs GT in IPL 2023
Jason Roy has been a breath of fresh air for KKR this year, with his explosive hitting lifting the load off the marquee players in the franchise. His opening partner for the previous game, N Jagadeesan, has struggled.
Jagadeesan's range in T20 cricket is obviously limited, and his place in the side is definitely under question. With Litton Das having flown home and Rahmanullah Gurbaz not having fared much better, though, the keeper-batter could be persisted with.
Shardul Thakur has missed KKR's last few games but seems to be nearing full fitness. While he isn't a reliable powerplay bowler by any means, he surely can't do worse than Umesh Yadav, who has scalped only one wicket so far. The all-rounder could replace Umesh against GT.
Suyash Sharma and Roy could rotate as impact players once again, with Venkatesh Iyer plucking a superb catch in the last game and the Englishman not being at full fitness.
KKR's predicted playing XI for Match 39 of IPL 2023: Jason Roy, N Jagadeesan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, David Wiese, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Impact player candidates: Mandeep Singh, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana.
KKR vs GT: GT Predicted Playing 11 vs KKR in IPL 2023
GT don't need to make many changes. Alzarri Joseph could return, with KKR having clear weaknesses against express pacers. He could replace Josh Little, with Noor Ahmad having come into his own lately.
The spin-friendly Eden Gardens surface could force the Titans to use either Jayant Yadav or R Sai Kishore as the impact player, with the former holding a slight edge due to the left-handers in KKR's lineup. Vijay Shankar could be the man to be subbed out if GT bat first.
GT's predicted playing XI for Match 39 of IPL 2023: Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami, Noor Ahmad, Alzarri Joseph, Mohit Sharma.
Impact player candidates: Vijay Shankar, R Sai Kishore, B Sai Sudharsan, Shivam Mavi, Jayant Yadav.