Match 25 of IPL 2026 will be played on Friday, April 17 between Gujarat Titans vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Narendra Modi Stadium. Gujarat Titans come in having won both previous matches and Kolkata Knight Riders have started out with 4 losses, 1 draw and 0 wins at the bottom of the table.
The Momentum Shift: Titans on the Rise
After a not great start to the season Shubman Gills team has shown the league why they are old champions. Their recent easy win against Lucknow Super Giants showed a batting team that is finally working together. Shubman Gill (56) and Jos Buttler (60) have made an opening pair while Prasidh Krishna has been amazing with the ball just after taking 4 wickets for 28 runs.
The Titans have a record against KKR winning 3 out of 5 matches.The Ahmedabad pitch is expected to be good, for scores so GTs top order looks ready to take advantage of it.
KKR’s Search for Identity
On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane-led KKR appears to be a side that is looking for solutions. Having gathered their solitary point from a no-result, the are going through their worst-ever start to the IPL. Although Rahane has been a reliable source (scoring 38 at a 149+ strike rate), weak performances of Finn Allen and Rinku Singh have been quite obvious. The brightest spot however has been the little-known Angkrish Raghuvanshi, who has so far scored 182 runs at a strike rate of 155.
Tactical Breakdown & Predicted XIs
The Pitch Factor: Ahmedabad is a batters’ paradise on the surface of their most recent games with an average score of 214. Traditionally pace bowlers have dominated this surface and taken about twice the number of wickets as spin bowlers.
Gujarat Titans (GT) Probable XI:
Top Order: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Jos Buttler (WK)
Middle Order: Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Rahul Tewatia
Bowling Unit: Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Ashok Sharma, Prasidh Krishna
Impact Player: Shahrukh Khan
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable XI:
Top Order: Finn Allen, Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (C)
Middle Order: Angkrish Raghuvanshi (WK), Cameron Green, Rinku Singh, Rovman Powell, Ramandeep Singh
Bowling Unit: Anukul Roy, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kartik Tyagi
Impact Player: Vaibhav Arora
Key Captaincy Stats
The difference in the captaincy stats is glaring. Shubman Gill is becoming more confident and his winning percentage is at 53.33% however Ajinkya Rahane's period at KKR has been a tough one and at present, he has a winning percentage of 32.56%. If KKR is to alter their luck, they will need to exploit GT's often untested middle order and also, pray that their foreign players, e.g. Cameron Green, come up with their best performances.
Will the Titans keep growing stronger or will Kolkata get their first "Kora" (win) in the city of Ahmedabad? The game starts at 7:30 PM IST.
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