The 13th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will be played between the Gujarat Titans (GT) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, April 9. Gujarat Titans have begun their title defense in some style, winning their first two matches in IPL 2023.
While the likes of Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan have impressed with the bat, Gujarat will rely on their star-studded bowling attack to deliver yet again. As for the Knight Riders, they will be coming into the game after a dominating win against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).
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They have a potent spin attack and will bank on the duo of Nitish Rana and Andre Russell to deliver with the bat. Now, both GT and KKR will be high on confidence owing to their respective victories as they face each other on 9th April. With both teams looking to sustain their momentum, another cracking game beckons in Ahmedabad. These two faced each other only once in 2022 and GT won the closely fought game.
On that note, Here are three player battles to watch out for from the GT vs KKR in the IPL 2023 contest in Ahmedabad.
#3 Shubman Gill vs Umesh Yadav
Shubman Gill started this season with a knock of 63 against CSK. Gill plays the new ball pretty well and will have to tackle the new-ball bowling by Umesh Yadav in the Powerplay. Both players have met each other twice, and Gill has scored 11 runs from five balls without getting dismissed. Umesh scalped 55 wickets in powerplay overs in the IPL, the fourth-highest wicket-taker in this regard.
#2 Hardik Pandya vs Sunil Narine
Hardik Pandya is the glue that binds the middle order of GT. He will operate in the middle overs and will have to negotiate with Sunil Narine. In six IPL meetings, Hardik has amassed 56 runs at a strike rate of 151.35 against Narine. The KKR spinner has failed to dismiss him even once. In the middle overs (IPL), Narine has taken y74 wickets at 27.24.
#1 Andre Russell vs Rashid Khan
KKR all-rounder Andre Russell will be a big wicket for GT, and Hardik will be eyeing to unleash Rashid Khan to deal with the fiery all-rounder. Rashid has dismissed Russell twice in six IPL meetings. The 34-year-old has scored 11 runs with a paltry strike rate of 68.75. He could only manage a solitary boundary against Rashid. Overall, Russell has an IPL strike rate of 156.59 against spinners.
