The Indian Premier League is back in Ahmedabad on Monday as the Gujarat Titans play their penultimate IPL 2024 match when they play host to a Kolkata Knight Riders side who already know they will get two goes at making the final when the playoffs come along.
Gujarat Titans have yet to miss out on the finals in their history but they are going to need two huge wins and some results to go their way if they are going to keep that record intact. A date with the leaders might make that difficult.
Gujarat Titans
This has been a tough season for the Gujarat Titans, there is no getting away from that, but they showed in snapping a three-match losing run with a pretty dominant win over the Chennai Super Kings last time out that they haven’t completely given up on their campaign just yet. Unfortunately for them, even 35 run winning margins aren’t enough for them but they did show with the bat that if in one of these last two games they can put a side in and restrict them they could clatter runs and maybe get themselves on an even keel net run rate wise.
The opening pair were the heroes in that win over Chennai last time out with them putting on more than 200 for the opening wicket and both making centuries. You could argue their bowling wasn’t really on point, especially having had Chennai 10-3 in their chase of 232, and it might be that they regret allowing the Super Kings to get up to 196-8 when they had the chance to build up a huge margin of victory which would have wiped out some of their net run rate deficit.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The Kolkata Knight Riders were also winners on Saturday, with them coming through against the Mumbai Indians in a match which a wet outfield had reduced to 16 overs per side. You always thought that a reduction in overs would benefit a Kolkata side who bat so deep that everyone could just pin their ears back and see how many runs they could put up. That is exactly how it proved and now the Knight Riders have the luxury of being able to get form into players ahead of the finals.
Whatever happens in their last two matches of the season, Kolkata will finish in the top two so they will get two goes are reaching the final as they look to get the trophy back in their hands. That will give their batters the freedom in the first match to continue their assault on the bowlers without the fear that if it all does go wrong it could be a damaging one on their season. If those who are short of time in the middle or light on wickets get the chance to boost their confidence so much the better.
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Key Players
Sai Sudharsan hasn’t really got the plaudits going into this competition that he might otherwise have because I think people see him as a Test match player but he showed in the last game that he can play all formats with a brutal 103 from just 51 balls. More of the same is needed here.
Andre Russell has delivered the goods when Kolkata Knight Riders have needed him to this season but they have been so good at the beginning of both innings that he hasn’t really needed to produce his own fireworks. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he gets the chance to do that in this match.
Betting
These sorts of matches are tricky ones to bet on but I do think this Ahmedabad surface plays slightly more into the hands of the spinners, as it would do when the home side have the likes of Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad within their ranks, and that makes me think that Sunil Narine will have an impact on this match. He has arguably been the player of the tournament so far and if he keeps his form up for another couple of weeks then Kolkata Knight Riders could well be the champions this term.
He has a performance line in this match of 40.5 which feels a little on the low side when you consider that he has taken a wicket in each of his last 10 matches in the competition and he is batting as well as ever. You would imagine on this pitch that he can get among the wickets, especially later in the innings when he is coming up against the likes of David Miller and Matthew Wade who aren’t the best players of spin. Five times in the tournament he has covered this total with the bat as well so he can do this with a good day with bat or ball or an average one with both. However he gets there I expect Narine to go beyond 40.5pts in this match.
Tips
Back S.Narine’s Performance – Over 40.5pts for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
Back him here:
