With five wins in seven matches, Gujarat Titans are off to a terrific start in their title defence. While the pressure of expectations always remained right by our side, our Titans only got better with every passing game and even in the matches we lost, there were plenty of positives to take away. 

Now, the reverse fixtures begin in TATA IPL 2023 and to start that off, we face Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens. From Vijay Shankar’s sensational half-century to Rashid Khan’s hat-trick, we had plenty of terrific individual performances in our last meeting against KKR, but credit where it's due, a special finish from Rinku Singh denied us two points. 

Skipper Hardik Pandya keeps emphasising on the importance of getting better with every passing game and so far, we have been doing that quite well. 

Chasing down targets has been a major strength for the side, winning 11 out of 12 targets so far in the tournament since last season. However, we have also produced impressive performances while defending totals in the last two matches, including that terrific comeback against Lucknow Super Giants, which instils more confidence in the camp.  

Peak into the opponent’s camp

Kolkata Knight Riders are coming into this game on the back of a terrific win in their last match against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Time and again this season, they have shown their strength with the bat, especially in run chases. With three wins in eight matches, they currently occupy the seventh spot in the points table. 

Titan to watch out for

Shubman Gill returns to the Eden Gardens for the first time as an opposition player in the TATA IPL. Gill made his debut in this tournament with KKR and scored 545 runs in 16 innings, at an average of 41.92 and a strike rate of 154.82 across all T20 matches he has played here. With 284 runs at a strike rate of 142.71 in this season so far, he is our leading run-scorer as well. Last year, he helped us get off to a good start in our Qualifier 1 against the Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens.    

Key numbers

Hardik Pandya needs three wickets to complete 150 T20 wickets. 

Rashid Khan is one match away from completing 100 TATA IPL appearances. 

Mohit Sharma needs two more scalps to complete 100 TATA IPL wickets. 

Our pace bowling battery has picked up 28 wickets (2nd best) at an economy of 8.30 (best) so far in TATA IPL 2023. 

Match details

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans, Match 39
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
3.30 PM