IPL 2024: Predicting KKR’s Playing XI for their clash against GT

Table-toppers Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be up against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Match 63 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024. The two-time champions have already qualified for the playoffs but need at least one more win to ensure a top-two finish in the league stage. GT, on the other hand, are currently seventh in the points table and on the brink of elimination. 

A defeat against KKR will knock the 2022 champions out of the tournament. However, they will come out all guns blazing, especially confident after their impressive win against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Kolkata’s latest win was against Mumbai Indians (MI) and they look unstoppable this season. 

Here is KKR’s predicted Playing XI for the match against GT in IPL 2024:

Openers: Phil Salt (wk), Sunil Narine 

Phil Salt and Sunil Narine are one of the most dangerous opening pair in IPL 2024. Known for their aggressive game, both have the ability to take the game away from their opponents in the powerplay itself. Narine has so far scored 461 runs at a strike rate of 182.94. Meanwhile, Salt amassed 435 runs at a strike rate of 182.01. 

KKR have a well-balanced side this time and if GT wants to take control of the game, they need to get both openers out early. It will be interesting to see what strategy the hosts come up with against these two destructive batters on a batting-friendly Ahmedabad surface. 

Middle-order: Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh

KKR replaced Angkrish Raghuvanshi with Nitish Rana in their last game. Playing his first match of the season, the southpaw looked to be in good touch, scoring 33 off 23. Shreyas Iyer’s form is a concern for the franchise as the skipper is yet to produce an impressive performance in the tournament. 

Venkatesh Iyer is in fine form and is the main force in KKR’s middle-order. In the last match against MI, the southpaw scored 42 runs at a strike rate of 200. Rinku Singh in 2024 is not even a shadow of Rinku Singh in 2023. Known for his finishing prowess, this lower-order batter-top didn’t get much chance to showcase his skills this time due to the consistency in the top and middle-order. 

All-rounder: Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh

While Sunil Narine has been stronger with the bat this season, Andre Russell has been stronger with his bowling. Apart from playing a few cameos, the big man hasn’t played any remarkable innings in the recent matches. However, he excelled with the ball, taking 15 wickets in 12 matches. 

Ramandeep Singh is a powerful striker of the ball who can deliver blazing finishes in the death overs. Batting in the lower order, the right-hander gets limited deliveries to face but does his job decently. Ramandeep is also a handy medium pacer, but KKR are not exploring his abilities in this department. 

Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy

Mitchell Starc and Harshit Rana will lead KKR’s pace attack. Both will have assistance from Impact Player Vaibhav Arora. Although Starc has shown improvement in his game as the tournament has progressed, the left-arm pacer has been inconsistent and has been leaking a lot of runs. 

Harshit is KKR’s second leading wicket-taker with 16 scalps from 10 innings. In the last match against MI, the right-arm pacer picked up two wickets and bowled a brilliant final over to give KKR a great win. Varun Chakravarthy is currently the third-highest wicket-taker in the series with 18 wickets. He is in good form and will be a key weapon against the Titans in the middle overs.

KKR XI: Phil Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.

Impact Substitute: Vaibhav Arora

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