A crucial match for Gujarat Lions as they have lost three successive games after winning 6 matches in the ninth season of Indian Premier League. Currently GL have 12 points in played 10 matches and will be upagainst in form Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on 8 May, Sunday. KKR have won same number of matches as Gujarat but played one game short than them.
Preview
Two time Indian Premier League champion Kolkata Knight Riders have shown that why they are strong and favorites to win third crown this year. Gautam Gambhir & Company have been doing great and they way players have played crucial innings on key moments, makes KKR very strong side to beat. The way Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan and Gautam Gambhir have batted in the competition, it will be difficult for Gujarat Lions to stop them.
Andre Russell’s all-rounding performance has really worked for the side. Shakib Al Hasan, Brad Hogg, Piyush Chawala and Sunil Narine (if plays) will be again crucial bowlers in home conditions for Kolkata Knight Riders. Umesh Yadav was quite expensive in the last game but still he can be handy too for struggling Gujarat Lions.
Batting is really a big headache for Gujarat Lions in previous three games. Big names in the top order like Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina have been failing to score runs. Aaron Finch played brilliant innings in the last match but it wasn’t as quick as it should be. So middle order is also struggling for GL. Dhawal Kulkarni and Shivil Kaushik are the two bowlers on which Gujarat is relying on. On Eden Gardens pitch, Ravindra Jadeja and Shivil Kaushik can be the trump cards for Lions.
Playing XI (Predicted)
Kolkata Knight Riders
Gautam Gambhir (Captain), Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Brad Hogg, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav.
Gujarat Lions
Suresh Raina (Captain), Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Ishan Kishan, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik.
Predictions
Kolkata Knight Riders will be favorites to win against Gujarat Lions and they have got 60 percent winning chances.