Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans, 35th Match - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Saha falls

He just fetched a boundary off Umesh with a paddle scoop and tries to repeat the shop which leads to his downfall. Timely strike for KKR but Titans wouldn't mind either. They needed Saha to get a move on. Titans are 86/2 after 11 overs.

Hardik in good touch

He is resuming from where he left and today, he has an opportunity to really make it count as he gets to bat at 3. Hardik Pandya is the key for Titans and alongside Saha, he has guided GT to a safe position after the powerplay. Will be interesting to see how he handles the spinners now.

Early strike

Gill's struggles continue. What a turnaround this is for him after almost scoring back-to-back centuries. And he will be kicking himself today for this dismissal. This was down the leg side and he nudged it behind to the keeper. Should have just left it alone. Early strike for KKR.

Toss - Titans opt to bat

Hardik Pandya returns and he wins the toss. Gujarat Titans want to put up a score on the board in a day game and that does make sense. He replaces Vijay Shankar in the Titans' XI. As far as KKR are concerned, there are multiple changes there. Sam Billings is back and so is Tim Southee. Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins are out of the XI. That's a big call but Shreyas Iyer did mention that they have a few niggles. Rinku Singh gets a game too in place of Sheldon Jackson.

Teams:

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Venkatesh Iyer, Sunil Narine, Shreyas Iyer(c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings(w), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Tim Southee, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Wriddhiman Saha(w), Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya(c), Abhinav Manohar, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Shami

Build up

Your fortunes can change pretty quickly in this competition. Ask Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders. For the first couple of weeks, it was KKR who were the buoyant side having won three of their first four games but things have only gone downhill since then. KKR have lost their next three and are desperately seeking a win today to get their campaign back on track. And they are up against a side that has defied expectations this year.

Gujarat Titans were widely expected to struggle in their maiden season but have turned up almost every game. Even without talisman Hardik Pandya, they managed to pick up a win with David Miller coming to the party. They seem to find a hero every game and that's what is required in a team sport. Hardik is expected to return today but Titans would want that top order to fire. Matthew Wade hasn't fired yet and Wriddhiman Saha struggled in his first outing. Shubman Gill has registered three low scores after a bright start and Vijay Shankar has looked out of his depth.

If that top order can chip in, expect Titans to once again put themselves in a great position to seal another win. As far as KKR are concerned, problems lie in that pace department spearheaded by Pat Cummins. He has leaked runs every game and that side is being rescued time and time again only by the spin duo. Cummins will have to step up today and the same goes for Venkatesh Iyer. They dropped himi to the middle order last game and it will be interesting to see where he bats today. Plenty to look forward to in the first game of the double header today. Hopefully, we are in for a cracker.