The 35th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 will see Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) taking on Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday (April 23).
While the Knight Riders are coming into this game with a heartbreaking seven-run loss at the hands of Rajasthan Royals (RR), the Titans are on a winning spree in the ongoing IPL season, defeating Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their last encounter by three wickets.
KKR will look to get back to winning ways whereas LSG will aim to carry their domination when both teams will square off at DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai.
Ahead of the game, Team COC presents to you the Predicted playing XIs of Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
KKR are unlikely to make any changes to their playing XI despite a narrow loss to RR in a high-scoring thriller. Aaron Finch played a brutal knock of 28-ball 58 against the Royals and he should open the innings alongside Venkatesh Iyer.
Captain Shreyas Iyer is expected to hold the No. 3 batting position after his whirlwind 51-ball 85 versus RR, followed by Nitish Rana, all-rounder Andre Russell, and wicketkeeper-batter Sheldon Jackson.
Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins have proved their worth with the bat on quite a few occasions in the past and the duo is likely to feature in the batting order at No. 7 and 8 respectively.
Coming to the bowling department, Umesh Yadav will spearhead the pace attack, which will also have Cummins and Shivam Mavi. On the other hand, Varun Chakaravarthy will play as a specialist spinner in the line-up besides Narine.
Gujarat Titans (GT)
Having won 5 out of their 6 games, the Titans are leading the IPL 2022 points table. For the game against KKR, the table toppers should be bolstered by the return of regular skipper Hardik Pandya, who missed the last game versus CSK due to a niggle.
Shubman Gill will continue to open the innings for GT alongside wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha. With captain Hardik set to return, Vijay Shankar is likely to be axed from the playing XI.
David Miller played a match-winning knock of 51-ball 94* against CSK and he is a certain starter in the line-up, followed by Abhinav Manohar and Rahul Tewatia.
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who led the side in the last game, displayed his batting talent against CSK with a blazing knock of 21-ball 40 and he could be promoted in the batting order depending on the situation.
Coming to the pace department, Gujarat Titans have a lot of choices but they are unlikely to disrupt the winning combination. International stars such as Mohammad Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson will feature in the attack along with the uncapped left-arm pacer Yash Dayal.
Kolkata Knight Riders COC Predicted Playing XI:
Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Gujarat Titans COC Predicted Playing XI:
Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammad Shami
