Gujarat Titans host winless KKR in Ahmedabad with pressure building on both sides
Two teams heading in opposite directions
Gujarat Titans welcome Kolkata Knight Riders to the Narendra Modi Stadium on Friday night in a contest that pits a team with growing belief against one trapped in a deepening rut. GT sit sixth on the points table with two wins from four completed matches and have found some rhythm after a patchy opening week. KKR, by contrast, are rooted to the bottom. Five matches played, zero wins, and just one point picked up courtesy of rain in Kolkata against Punjab Kings.
For GT, the return to form of Shubman Gill has been the biggest positive. Gill has crossed 33 in all three of his innings this season and has piled up over 1,000 runs across 23 career innings at this ground, a record that makes him the most prolific batter in IPL history at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Jos Buttler chipped in with a timely fifty in the last outing against Delhi Capitals, and Prasidh Krishna has been the standout bowler of the tournament so far, the first man to reach 10 wickets in IPL 2026.
KKR's problems run deeper than results
KKR's struggles go beyond the scoreboard. Captain Ajinkya Rahane was fined Rs 12 lakh for a slow over-rate offence during their most recent defeat to Chennai Super Kings, adding to the sense that nothing is going right for the 2024 champions. The pace attack has been expensive, Cameron Green has managed just 56 runs in five innings and barely troubled batters with the ball, and the middle order has lacked any composure under pressure.
The one bright spot has been Ankrish Raghuvanshi, who has touched 45 three times across five innings and looked KKR's most assured batter. But one young player cannot carry an entire franchise, and KKR will need contributions from across their squad if they are to avoid a historically bad start to the season.
Head-to-head and conditions
GT lead the head-to-head record 3-1 in five meetings, though KKR did win the only previous match between the two sides at this venue. The pitch tends to favour batters in the early overs before slowing as the match goes on, and with temperatures expected to touch 41 degrees in Ahmedabad on Friday, conditions will test the fitness and discipline of both sides.
GT will want to bat first and pile on runs against a leaky KKR attack, while Rahane's side will hope that a change of city brings a change of luck. At this stage, though, KKR need more than hope. They need a performance.
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