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Gujarat Titans' stand-in captain Rashid Khan won the all-important toss and elected to bat first in the 13th match of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). Hardik Pandya was 'unwell' and hence the all-rounder was rested for the game. Vijay Shankar replaced the GT skipper in the playing XI. KKR made two changes to their playing XI as Lockie Ferguson replaced Tim Southee and N Jagadeesan came into the playing XI in place of Mandeep Singh.
Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Vijay Shankar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Abhinav Manohar, Rashid Khan(c), Mohammed Shami, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Suyash Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Defending champions Gujarat Titans would be eyeing a hat-trick of wins, while Kolkata Knight Riders, fresh from their decimation of Royal Challengers Bangalore, would be keen to show the win was not a flash in the pan when the two sides clash in the IPL on Sunday (April 9).
The home advantage apart, Gujarat Titans have the players to achieve the goals, and it has been all too visible in the first two games of the season.
If their opening match against Chennai Super Kings gave an insight into young Shubman Gill's form with the bat as he scored a 36-ball 63 in the thrilling five-wicket victory. The tie against Delhi Capitals threw up an unlikely hero in Sai Sudarshan, who clobbered a 48-ball 62 to make a mockery of the rival team's total.
KKR, on the other hand, lost their first game of the season against Punjab Kings by seven runs (DLS method) but roared back in style and thrashed Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 81 runs. KKR's spin troika of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy and Suyash Sharma was instrumental in the team's victory. The Knight Riders would hope for another performance by their spinners against a destructive GT batting line-up.
Squads
Gujarat Titans: Hardik Pandya (c), Srikar Bharat, Alzarri Joseph, Josh Little, Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Mohammed Shami, Darshan Nalkande, Noor Ahmad, Urvil Patel, Rashid Khan, Wriddhiman Saha, R Sai Kishore, Sai Sudharsan, Pradeep Sangwan, Dasun Shanaka, Vijay Shankar, Mohit Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Odean Smith, Rahul Tewatia, Matthew Wade, Jayant Yadav, Yash Dayal.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana (c), Vaibhav Arora, Lockie Ferguson, Harshit Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Narayan Jagadeesan, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh, Sunil Narine, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Tim Southee, Suyash Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakravarthy, David Wiese, Umesh Yadav.
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