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IPL 2023 Predictions: Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders
Gujarat Titans (GT) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will face each other in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The match will be the second home game of the season for GT, who are the defending champions.
KKR will enter the match with confidence, having won their previous match against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
GT has won their last two games at the Motera and is a more formidable side than their opponents.
KKR’s away form is still a concern as they lost to Punjab Kings in a rain-marred affair in their opening match of the season.
Injury Update:
GT has replaced injured Kane Williamson with Dasun Shanaka, a batting all-rounder, and has no further injury concerns reported before the match.
KKR has no fresh injury updates since Jason Roy replaced Shreyas Iyer in the KKR squad.
Key Players:
GT’s Sai Sudharsan has been the talk of the town after his match-winning 62* against DC and scored a 17-ball 22 in the first game too.
Vijay Shankar has been in good form too with two influential knocks of 27 and 29.
Star opener Shubman Gill flopped in the last game but has been in the form of his life and scored a half-century in his last game here.
David Miller arrived from South Africa and played a crucial 16-ball 31 while Rahul Tewatia provides further firepower down the order.
However, Hardik Pandya’s batting form has been questionable with two bad knocks. He is yet to pick a wicket this IPL as well.
GT’s bowling has little to worry about.
The likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami, and Alzarri Joseph have made them a formidable bowling unit.
Both Khan and Shami have picked five wickets each in two games while left-handed express pacer Joseph is right behind with four wickets.
The team’s third pacer Joshua Little is yet to make an impact with the ball.
KKR’s likes of Nitish Rana, Mandeep Singh, and Venkatesh Iyer have not made the desired contribution on top of the order yet.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz has shown consistency with knocks of 22 and 57 in the last two innings, but the Afghan ‘keeper-batter is not known to be someone who scores runs in bulk.
Andre Russell scored 35 in the first game but was out for a first-ball duck, and Rinku Singh showed his growth with a responsible 46-run knock while Shardul Thakur went berserk during his 29-ball 68 in the last game.
His bowling is yet to show the same spark as he has just picked a wicket in two games, but he is expected to get some help from the Ahmedabad turf.
KKR also showed their spin strength in the last game as Varun Chakravarthy (3 wickets), Sunil Narine (2), and debutant Suyas Sharma (3 wickets) shone.
However, whether they will be as effective on a Motera surface remains in question, with Motera helping pace at the moment.
That makes the role of pacers Umesh Yadav and Tim Southee crucial, but the duo is yet to step up this year.
Express pacer Lockie Ferguson may get a look in against GT and could be an ideal impact substitute as he likes to bowl in the death.
Pitch Report for GT vs KOL
The Ahmedabad pitch has been helpful for batters, with the pitch not changing much over the course of 40 overs.
Pacers may get help early on, but it’s helpful for batters from there on.
Chasing has worked on the pitch, as the last three matches at the Stadium saw the team batting second win.
Predicted Playing XI:
GT: Hardik Pandya (C), Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Shami, Joshua Little, Yash Dayal, Alzarri Joseph
KKR: Nitish Rana (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy
Who will win
Gujarat Titans are the defending champions and have been in good form in the tournament so far.
With a strong batting and bowling lineup, they have all the tools to beat Kolkata Knight Riders, who are yet to find their footing in the tournament.
On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders have shown some glimpses of brilliance in their last game, with the likes of Rinku Singh and Varun Chakravarthy performing well.
However, their batting order is yet to fire, and they have to find a way to score runs consistently if they want to beat Gujarat Titans.
Considering all these factors, Gujarat Titans are likely to win the match against Kolkata Knight Riders and continue their winning streak in the IPL 2023 season.
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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024
RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.
It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain
Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.
It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.
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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window
Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.
It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.
Watch the viral video here –
ELLYSE PERRY HAS BROKE THE GLASS OF THE CAR…!!! 🤯
– The reaction of Perry was priceless!! pic.twitter.com/zaxiQLLN1r
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 4, 2024
Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.
RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief
As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.
On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.
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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy
Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.
Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.
The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).
‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar
“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.
Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.
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