Gujarat Titans are currently sitting at the top of the points table © BCCI/IPL
The Overview

With three wins in four matches, it seemed Kolkata Knight Riders had found the perfect template for IPL 2022. They were aggressive with the bat in hand while the bowling unit wore a settled look. However, with three consecutive losses in the bag, things have fallen apart pretty drastically for them and they've slipped to the seventh spot after seven matches

There are problems aplenty for the Kolkata franchise and with key personnel misfiring, they are desperate to find solutions. Take Pat Cummins for example, the pacer has figures of 2 for 49, 0 for 51, 1 for 40 and 1 for 50 - leaking runs at 12.00 in four matches. They haven't been able to control the middle overs because Varun Chakravarthy - four wickets from seven matches at an average of 55.25 - has struggled to keep things in check. Both Andre Russell and Shivam Mavi have an economy of more than 10 while Umesh Yadav and Sunil Narine have been the stand out performers with the ball in hand.

While Chakravarthy is struggling with the 'second-season syndrome', Venkatesh Iyer too has caught the same bug. The opener has a half-century but his other scores read - 16, 10, 3, 18, 6 and 6. Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer and Russell have looked in good tough at various stages while Sheldon Jackson has squandered all his four opportunities so far. The team will hope for more from Nitish Rana as well, who has struck them at an impressive strike rate of 143.87 but averages just 20.14.

With several aspects of their game now wobbly, KKR run into table-toppers Gujarat Titans who have found different ways to win. In four of KKR's seven matches so far, they've had their former players deliver impact performances to steal the game from them. Be it Dinesh Karthik for RCB, Kuldeep Yadav for Delhi Capitals or Rahul Tripathi for Sunrisers Hyderabad. They will now be up against Shubman Gill and Lockie Ferguson.

Titans too have a niggling issue to fix at the top of the order. Matthew Wade hasn't quite hit his straps while Vijay Shankar has looked at sea. With Gill posting single-digit scores in his previous three matches, the onus has fallen on Hardik Pandya and the middle order to rescue the side every single time. Gill's two big scores have been 96 and 84 and if he can find support from his opening partner, Titans should become a more potent unit.

When: Saturday, April 23 at 15:30 IST

Where: Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai

What to expect: An afternoon game means the bowlers can breathe easy and not worry about dew. The last afternoon match at the venue saw SRH ease past Punjab Kings with pacers making merry but the batters should expect a good batting track at their disposal.

Teams

Kolkata Knight Riders

Tactics and Matchups: Barring Narine, all KKR bowlers have struggled in the last three losses. Umesh, Chakravarthy, Cummins, Southee and Russell have leaked runs at more than ten an over and that's left the batting unit with plenty to do. Especially dire has been the performance of Chakravarthy, who has leaked 75 runs in five overs in the last two matches and has gone wicketless. KKR need the spinner to put in an impact performance before it's too late for him and the side.

Probable XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy

Gujarat Titans

Tactics and Matchups: The clash will also see two individuals fighting for a spot in the Indian eleven. Venkatesh has grabbed the finisher's spot from Hardik but has struggled in IPL 2022. The GT captain, on the other hand, has not only scored runs when his team needed it, but has been chipping in with the ball as well. On average Hardik is involved in 55 balls every match (33 with the bat & 22 with the ball) while the figure dips to just 15 for Venkatesh (15 with the bat and two with the ball). The selectors will surely keep an eye on the performance of the two all-rounders, especially with Hardik doing well with the ball.

Probable XI: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill, Vijay Shankar, Hardik Pandya (c), David Miller, Abhinav Manohar, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Shami

Did you know?

- Rashid is one wicket away from joining Narine in the special club of 100 wickets by overseas spinners in IPL.

- Russell averages just 12 against Rashid but strikes them at 160 with 48 runs from 30 balls and four dismissals.

What they said:

"From our point of view, we've had three losses in a row and we're going to have to find a way to keep our morale high which is so vitally important. There can be a tendency to run away from things when you haven't got across the line in a couple of key games. We just have to keep pushing ourselves, make sure we stick together and stay composed. We've been there before and it's going to test us again this time" - Brendon McCullum.