IPL 2025: KKR Playing XI vs GT- Match 39

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) faced a nightmare against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) during their previous encounter in Chandigarh,. They were on the wrong side of a team that successfully defended the lowest total (111) in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

With their third defeat in seven encounters, Kolkata slipped to the sixth position in the points table with a damaged net run rate of +0.547. There was a point when many home fans left the stadium with no such expectations, but they couldn’t predict what transpired next.

KKR will now meet the Gujarat Titans at the Eden Gardens on April 21, 2025. With the opponents sitting in the top half of the points table, it will be a crucial game for both sides.

IPL 2025: KKR Playing XI vs GT- Match 39

Openers- Quinton de Kock/Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine

Quinton de Kock’s performance as the opener of the franchise has been really poor this season. The southpaw has nailed just 143 runs in seven innings at an average of 23.83 and a strike rate of 137.50. This includes his best score of 97*, which means the rest 46 runs have come in six innings at around seven.

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Even in KKR’s previous clash against the Kings, he managed just two runs before getting dismissed by Xavier Bartlett. He failed to keep the ball on the ground and repeated the same mistake from the past. In that case, they can use Rahmanullah Gurbaz as the wicket-keeper opening batter.

On the other hand, Sunil Narine has been irregular with the bat. Most teams have started to plan against the left-handed batter. Despite that, he has clubbed 130 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 185.71.

Middle order- Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh/Luvnith Sisodia

Many KKR fans suspected the management of appointing Ajinkya Rahane as their leader for the 2025 season. But the Mumbai-born has shown his class with the bat to be the leading run-getter of the side this year with 221 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 148.32, shouldering on two half-centuries.

Venkatesh Iyer is oa middle-order batterwho hasn’t clicked ihis season. The KKR selectors showed belief in him by paying INR 23.75 crore, but the southpaw has returned them 121 runs in five innings, including the best score of 60.

Andre Russell and Rinku Singh have looked off-form this season. The former had the chance to guide them over the winning in a tense situation, but he failed to burst the firecrackers.

Ramandeep Singh’s selection is under question. The batter has accumulated just 29 runs in four innings and is yet to make an impact this season. In his place, KKR can use Luvnith Sisodia and give them chances for the future. The lower-order batter is known for his aggressive batting against both pacers and spinners equally.

Bowlers- Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Vaibhav Arora

Bundling out a side for 111 means all the KKR bowlers were excellent with their line and length. Harshit Rana finished with figures of 3/25 in three overs, while the spin twin shared a fabulous figure of 4/35 in seven overs between them.

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Anrich Nortje used his pace to hurry the batter and returned with figures of 1/23 in three overs.

KKR Predicted Playing XI vs GT- IPL 2025, Match 39

Rahmanullah Gurbaz/Quinton de Kock (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh/Luvnith Sisodia, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy.

Impact Sub: Vaibhav Arora.