The state of play
Gujarat Titans face a mammoth task in their pursuit of the IPL 2024 play-offs as they host the formidable Kolkata Knight Riders in a must-win encounter.
The table-topping Knight Riders’ spot is already confirmed but as many as seven teams are still vying for the final three spots, with GT with work to do as they sit eighth on 10 points.
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Shubman Gill has roared back into form to hand the Titans a huge boost, with the captain claiming his fourth IPL century in a comfortable victory over Chennai Super Kings last time out.
Sai Sudharsan also hit a century in that last outing and the duo will once again be crucial if the Titans if they are to pull off a miracle and sneak into the top four.
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GT’s negative run rate after an up-and-down campaign means their chances are the slimmest of all the seven teams vying for a place, so another big win from the former champions is required.
KKR are in a much more comfortable position on an impressive 18 points and need just one win from their final two matches to seal their position in the top two.
And vice-captain Nitish Rana says the unbreakable team spirit within the group is the reason for their success so far – something that had been missing in previous years.
He said: “We win together, and we lose together; that’s the dressing room environment we have.
“It’s very important to place hands on each other’s shoulders, and I feel it was missing for the last one to two years.”
Expected line-ups
Gujarat Titans: Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Shubman Gill (c), Sai Sudharsan, David Miller, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Manav Suthar, Noor Ahmad, Mohit Sharma, Joshua Little
Kolkata Knight Riders: Phil Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Shreyas Iyer (c), Ramandeep Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy
How to watch
Sky have the rights to show the IPL to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live. Monday’s match will be shown live on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.50pm BST.
In India, the games can be streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website. They are also available across the Star Sports Network.
Prediction
Titans have won two of their last three meetings with Knight Riders and will hope their opponents take their off the gas with less riding on the fixture.
We’re going with the hosts to claim the victory – but the big win they require against the league leaders looks unlikely.
