Two sides who were beaten in the Indian Premier League playoffs meet in match three of the season on Friday when the Gujarat Lions host the Kolkata Knight Riders in what is the opening match of the new campaign for both.
Gujarat Lions showed their quality in the regular season last year but were left disappointed when they couldn’t do it when push came to shove. Kolkata’s campaign also ended earlier than they would have liked so both will be out to get off to a fast start here.
Gujarat Lions
I found the Gujarat Lions’ action in the IPL auction quite interesting. I say that because you would have thought with Dwayne Bravo likely to be missing for the beginning of the tournament as he is that they would have targeted some big bowling options but instead the only real business they did was to bring in Jason Roy but they already had players for his slot.
In fact they have a barrel load of aggressive opening batsmen but not much glue in the middle order and with injuries to key bowlers they have a weak or exposed looking bowling attack which is far from ideal it has to be said. You would think this is a side that is set up to chase rather than bat first.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The twice former champions will be eager to get their crown back but they haven’t been helped by injuries or suspensions either. They did however see some of their issues coming and they looked to replace them in the auction and by and large they did a pretty decent job of it. They’ve not got exact replicas but they’ve done well enough.
The big question over the beginning of this campaign is whether the Knight Riders’ bowling attack can be as strong as in previous seasons. If it can then they have a chance of success. If it isn’t you do wonder about them because there is a flimsy element to their batting with a couple of solid lower order options out of the picture.
Team News
It would appear that Gujarat Lions will leave Jason Roy on the sidelines. Dwayne Bravo and Ravi Jadeja will certainly be there as both are out injured. James Faulkner, Aaron Finch and Brendon McCullum look set to start.
Kolkata Knight Riders are going to be without Shakib-al-Hasan who is just arriving after being on international duty. Umesh Yadav has been told to rest for the early stages of the season. Chris Woakes could debut.
Betting
I’m going with two bets in this match. I’m leaving the match betting alone because this is a ground where chasing seems to suit and there is no doubt in my eyes that the Gujarat Lions are going to fare better when it comes to chasing.
Where I do like the Lions before the toss is in the highest first six overs market where their batsmen are capable of taking on any side and winning. A top four potentially of Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Suresh Raina and Aaron Finch are as explosive as they come and they certainly have more than an edge on Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey. In the two matches these two played last year Gujarat were 18 runs and 11 runs ahead after six overs. I expect them to lead after the powerplay here too.
Yusuf Pathan has a decent record against the Gujarat Lions. In his two innings against them last season he made 63* and 36 with the latter being enough to top score and the former within four runs of doing the same. With Shakib, who beat him in that first match, out of the picture it could be for Yusuf to come through and claim top batting honours for his side again here.
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Tips
Back Gujarat Lions Highest 1st 6 Overs for a 5/10 stake at 1.80 with BetVictor
Back them here:
Back Y.Pathan Top Kolkata Knight Riders Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 9.50 with NetBet
Back him here:
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