Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be locking horns with Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 35th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 at the Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai. The Shreyas Iyer-led side had suffered a loss in their last game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in a close encounter and they have lost all their three previous matches as well.
KKR’s bowling lineup needs to be reassessed as they have been conceding a lot of runs in the last few games, however, they are likely to go in with the same playing XI. On the other hand, Gujarat Titans have been the best team so far in the first half of the season and they have excelled in all three departments.
ALSO READ: Match 35 (KKR vs GT) – Probable XI And Fantasy XI
Each player in the GT squad has stepped up in different matches and the batting form of David Miller has solved a lot of issues for the Hardik Pandya-led side this season in the batting department. Vijay Shankar will definitely need some runs under his belt to retain his place while the skipper is set to be back in the playing XI at the expense of Yash Dayal.
Here’s a look at some of the key matchups to watch out for ahead of the clash.
#1 Shreyas Iyer vs Rashid Khan
KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer has an evident weakness against leg spin and that makes his clash with Rashid Khan one of the most mouth-watering contests. Iyer has been dismissed 14 times by leggies since IPL 2019 and Rashid has already done it twice. The Afghan has scalped just six wickets in the tournament so far despite being economical. Giving away just 6.66 runs an over, it appears batters are content to see him off. Only time will tell if Iyer will play it safe against Rashid.
#2 Hardik Pandya vs Varun Chakravarthy
GT skipper Hardik Pandya will be coming into the clash with two consecutive 50s under his belt. Keen to stop the Baroda all-rounder will be Varun Chakravarthy with his mystery spin. The Tamil Nadu tweaker has witnessed a below-par outing in the tournament so far, as he has picked up just four wickets. But he will hope it’s his day and he can prize out the GT skipper as well as the team’s middle-order.
#3 Andre Russell vs Mohammed Shami
Andre Russell in good nick is good news for KKR, while Mohammed Shami has been GT’s leading wicket-taker with eight scalps. His length against Russell’s ability to hit the ball on the rise makes for an epic slog-overs matchup. Despite being dismissed for a duck in KKR’s previous game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Russell has been playing at his ferocious best and Shami will play a large part in deciding the outcome of the match.
