By Prakash Nair 
Ahmedabad, April 17: Tonight’s match was never going to be a fifty-fifty contest. GT Gujarat Titans is coming home after winning two games on the trot, away from home, against teams that were supposed to give them a proper fight. They did not just win those games.
They won them in different ways, which is the real sign of a side that has figured something out. And now they are back at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in front of what will be a packed house, hosting a Kolkata Knight Riders side that has managed to lose four out of five games this season and still somehow looks surprised every time it happens.
Seven-thirty tonight. Ahmedabad. Come on then.
GT Went Away and Came Back Better
The first two games of GT’s season were rough. They lost both, and for a while it looked like the kind of start that sets the tone for a forgettable campaign. Then they went to Delhi.
Nobody expected them to win that game. They did, by one run, in the kind of finish that makes you want to throw your phone across the room. Then they went to Lucknow and batted like a team that had absolutely nothing to prove, winning by seven wickets without ever looking like they were in trouble.
Both wins on the road. That is worth saying again, because people underestimate what that means. When you are away from home, no familiar crowd, no friendly pitch, no comfortable routine, and you still find a way to win, that says something about the group.
Shubman Gill is the main reason for all of this. He has scored 165 runs in three matches at an average of over 50, and he is doing it the proper way, getting in, building an innings, and then shifting gears when the time is right. Sai Sudharsan, next to him at the top is the kind of batter crowds do not always appreciate because he does not hit the ball into the second tier.
But he scores, he keeps the scoreboard moving, and he rarely throws it away cheaply. And Jos Buttler at number three, when he is timing it well, is simply one of the cleanest strikers of a cricket ball you will see anywhere in the world right now.
The bowling has been even more impressive. Prasidh Krishna is sitting at the top of the Purple Cap with 10 wickets at an average of 15.20. He is bowling with real control and real aggression at the same time, which is not easy. Rashid Khan is doing his usual thing in the middle overs, which basically means nobody can hit him and nobody can read him. Mohammed Siraj is swinging it at the top. This attack has genuine variety, which is what makes it hard to bat against.
KKR is having an Absolute Nightmare
There is no polite way to say this. Kolkata Knight Riders are in a mess.
Some of it is not their fault, to be fair. Harshit Rana and Akash Deep are both out injured, and Mustafizur Rahman was let go before the tournament even started, following BCCI instructions. So three of their key bowlers were gone before a single ball was bowled. That is a serious problem for any team, not just KKR.
But the rest of it is harder to explain away. Varun Chakravarthy, who was literally their best bowler last season, has not taken a single wicket in this entire tournament. Sunil Narine has managed just three wickets in five games. These are not fringe players. These are senior, experienced, international-quality cricketers who are supposed to be the spine of this bowling unit. Both of them, at the same time, are completely out of form. The timing could not be worse.
With the bat, Finn Allen has scored 81 runs across five matches. For a man who was brought to cause chaos at the top of the order, that is way below what KKR needed. Cameron Green and Rinku Singh have barely featured in the good moments this season. The only person with his head above water in this batting lineup is Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who has 182 runs from five innings at an average of 45.5. A 22-year-old is basically dragging this side’s batting by himself. Not ideal.
Tim Seifert is coming in tonight to replace Allen at the top. Fair enough. Fresh pair of eyes, different approach. Whether it actually makes a difference is the question nobody at KKR headquarters can answer with any confidence right now.
The Teams Tonight
Gujarat Titans: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (Captain), Jos Buttler (Wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Ashok Sharma, Prasidh Krishna.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Sunil Narine, Tim Seifert (Wicketkeeper), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakravarthy.
GT is not changing a thing. Why would they?
The Battles That Will Actually Decide This Game
Gill Against an Inexperienced Attack
Gill averages over 52 at the Narendra Modi Stadium across 25 innings. He scored 90 the last time he faced KKR. He knows this ground. He knows where to hit, when to wait, and when to accelerate. KKR’s bowlers need to be absolutely on it from ball one, because if Gill gets any sort of start tonight, the scoreboard is going to get very big very fast.
Prasidh at the Top
This is where KKR’s night could unravel before it even begins. Prasidh has been the most reliable wicket-taker in this IPL. He gets the ball to bounce, he bowls a serious slower ball, and he targets the top of off stump consistently. KKR’s openers need to survive his first spell. If they do not, the innings gets wobbly early and never quite recovers.
Can Rinku Do It Again
Here is the thing about Rinku Singh and this ground. In 2023, he hit five consecutive sixes off the last over, bowled by Yash Dayal, to win a match that had absolutely no business being won. That actually happened. At this exact ground. The GT fans who were there have probably not fully recovered.
Rinku is quiet this season. Has not really had his moment yet. But players like him do not forget grounds that have been good to them. If KKR somehow get themselves into a position where they need 30 off the last two overs with Rinku at the crease, do not switch the television off.
Ground and Weather, Quickly
The Narendra Modi Stadium generally rewards the team that bats first. The new ball swings early, spinners get grip later in the innings, and the outfield is fast. No rain tonight. Around 26 degrees by the time the match starts. Whoever wins the toss should bat. Put a big score up and make KKR chase it under lights, where the pressure compounds with every over.
Straight Talk on This Match
KKR needs every single thing to go right tonight, all at once. Seifert needs to bat well. Raghuvanshi needs to be Raghuvanshi again. Either Narine or Chakravarthy needs to bowl like it is last season, suddenly. The seamers need early wickets. And GT needs to have one of those rare flat nights where nothing quite clicks.
That is a lot of things to need simultaneously, from a team that has shown no evidence of being able to string even two or three of them together in the same match this season.
GT are the better team right now. Not the team with the bigger reputation or the more expensive squad list, just the better team, as of today, based on what has happened on the pitch over the last three weeks. They bowl with discipline, they bat with intent, and their captain is playing some of the best cricket of his career at exactly the right time.
Tonight should be a GT win. It might get nervy, it might throw up a moment or two that stops the heart briefly, and if Rinku gets involved late, all bets are off. But in all likelihood, the Narendra Modi Stadium hosts another home win for the Titans tonight.
KKR’s first win of the season can wait one more game.
Stay ahead with Hindustan Herald — bringing you trusted news, sharp analysis, and stories that matter across Politics, Business, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Lifestyle, and more.
Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, YouTube, and join our Telegram community @hindustanherald for real-time updates.
Sports reporter covering cricket, football, and Olympic disciplines, with on-ground event experience.
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
- Prakash Nair
