IPL 2026, GT vs KKR 25th Match Match Preview – No Pathirana yet as free-falling KKR meet on-the-rise Gujarat Titans

Big picture: KKR approaching the point of no return

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) come to Ahmedabad knowing anything other than a win will put them in do-or-die territory. And we are not even close to the competition’s halfway stage.

With just one point in five games, time is running out for a side that is still figuring out its strengths. The returns from two big overseas names – Finn Allen and Cameron Green – have been minimal, and retained capped India internationals Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh are yet to fire.

Although the promotion of Sunil Narine as opener in their last game was a tactical move to deter their opponents Chennai Super Kings from bowling a left-arm spinner in Akeal Hosein, their thought process, from the outside, seems muddled since that decision pushed their best powerplay batter Ajinkya Rahane down the order.The bowling issues they started their season with have eased out with Narine regaining his magic touch and the pair of Kartik Tyagi and Vaibhav Arora appearing more settled, but they still need Varun Chakravarthy to bring out his best game. The opportunity to earn points is running out for KKR, and against hosts Gujarat Titans (GT), who are brimming with confidence after a sluggish start, the task won’t be easy.Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan are on their way to their fluent best while Jos Buttler has regained the form he lost at the T20 World Cup. Prasidh Krishna’s short-and-slow deliveries have reined in opposition batters in while Rashid Khan has found his mojo again after a forgettable 2025. The hosts enter the game looking to complete a hat-trick of wins, and another two points will bring them closer to the top four.

Friday night’s fixture at the Narendra Modi stadium will be about one team trying to arrest a freefall against a team that’s beginning to go on the ascendancy. GT are undeniably the favourites, and KKR will have to dig deep to leave Ahmedabad with two points.

Form guide

Gujarat Titans WWLL (completed matches in IPL 2026, most recent first)
Kolkata Knight Riders LLLL

Key Question

Team news: Pathirana unavailable

GT have no injury concerns and should field the same XII that won by seven wickets over Lucknow Super Giants. They have not yet fielded Jason Holder this season and have preferred continuity.

Gujarat Titans (probable XII) 1 Shubman Gill (capt), 2 B Sai Sudharsan, 3 Jos Buttler (wk), 4 Washington Sundar, 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Rahul Tewatia, 7 M Shahrukh Khan, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Ashok Sharma, 11 Prasidh Krishna, 12 Mohammed Siraj

Matheesha Pathirana has received his NOC from Sri Lanka Cricket but he will not be available for this game because of logistical reasons.

Kolkata Knight Riders (probable XII) 1 Finn Allen/Tim Seifert, 2 Sunil Narine, 3 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 4 Angkrish Raghuvanshi, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Ramandeep Singh, 8 Rovman Powell, 9 Anukul Roy, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Kartik Tyagi, 12 Varun Chakravarthy

Prasidh Krishna has played a key role in GT’s wins•BCCI

In the spotlight: Prasidh Krishna and Rinku Singh

Prasidh Krishna has quietly carved a niche for himself this season with his slow-and-short deliveries to trouble batters. In GT’s both wins, those deliveries played a key role, and those lengths work well in the big square boundaries in Ahmedabad. He is also the season’s joint-highest wicket-taker and has outbowled both Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada for GT.Rinku Singh was elevated to KKR vice-captain at the start of the season but that elevation has not translated into runs. In four innings, he has hit just one six, and his strike rate of 120 is far from his best. With KKR’s season slipping away, Rinku needs to produce an emphatic innings if the opportunity presents itself. Can he regain his form at the ground where he once hit five straight sixes in the 20th over?

Stats and trivia

• Anukul Roy’s left-arm orthodox spin could be a match-up against Buttler. The batter had a strike rate of 92 against left-arm fingerspin from January 1, 2026 to the end of the T20 World Cup. He was also dismissed by left-arm fingerspin four times (out of ten dismissals) in that period.
• Across every era of the IPL, Narine has bowled at an economy below every other spinner in matches he has featured in. Since 2023, in the highest-scoring era in IPL history, his economy of 7.39 is still 0.78 better than the other spinners in the same matches.
• Rashid Khan’s economy of 6.9 in IPL 2026 is his best in GT colours. In GT’s wins, Rashid’s economy has been 7.0. In GT’s losses, it goes up to 8.4.

Pitch and conditions

This will be the first game on pitch no. 6 at Narendra Modi Stadium. During the T20 World Cup, it was a superb wicket to bat on with pacers generating extra bounce if they hit the deck hard. There’s a bit of swing early but it fades equally quickly. Spinners should not expect much help. Win toss, chase total should be the default.

Quotes

“The IPL is a very tough tournament. It’s very hard to stay consistent for a long period of time. We are doing a lot of things well, we are working hard in the training, we are doing as much as possible to prepare ourselves for the games. Obviously, every team is very strong in their own right and we go out there and try our best on each given day and hopefully we bring some results as well.
GT’s Glenn Phillips on being consistent in the IPL

“I had shin splints, which were recurring whenever I was trying to restart playing. So I took a break for one year to figure out why it was happening again and again. I had to change my run-up and then worked on myself to become a better bowler. Playing at this level and improving myself is the only thing I have in mind.”
Kartik Tyagi on his return from injuries

Sreshth Shah is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @sreshthx