IPL 2025: KKR Opts to Bowl First, Gurbaz and Moeen Join Against GT
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Synopsis
On April 21, KKR's captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and opted to bowl first against the Gujarat Titans in IPL 2025's 39th match at Eden Gardens. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali were brought into the squad, replacing Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje.
Key Takeaways
- Kolkata Knight Riders elected to bowl first.
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali joined the KKR squad.
- Gujarat Titans are at the top of the points table.
- Rahane expressed confidence in his team.
- Shubman Gill commented on the absence of dew.
Kolkata, April 21 (NationPress) The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have introduced Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Moeen Ali into their lineup, as captain Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and chose to bowl first against the leading team, Gujarat Titans (GT), in match 39 of IPL 2025 at Eden Gardens on Monday.
Currently, GT, the champions of IPL 2022, hold a comfortable position at the top of the points table with five victories from seven matches, while the defending champions KKR find themselves in seventh place with three wins and four losses. Additionally, GT has a favorable head-to-head record against KKR, leading 2-1.
Gurbaz and Moeen are replacing the South African duo of Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortje, with Angkrish Raghuvanshi set to join during the chase as an impact player. “The pitch appears to be on the drier side, and we want to observe how it behaves while we bowl,” Rahane explained.
“This is a chasing ground. We discussed this after our last match. The players are putting in significant effort, and there is a strong motivation to climb the rankings. I have confidence in all the players. I'm not overly concerned about the middle-order,” Rahane stated following the toss.
GT captain Shubman Gill mentioned that he does not anticipate dew to be a factor later in the game. “I don’t believe there will be any dew. It should make for a competitive match. Our bowling has been excellent, and we are consistently taking wickets. The skill set that Rashid Khan, our vice-captain, brings to our bowling has been outstanding,” he said.
Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Moeen Ali, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, and Varun Chakaravarthy
Substitutes: Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rovman Powell, Luvnith Sisodia, and Anukul Roy
Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill (captain), B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Washington Sundar, Sai Kishore, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna
Substitutes: Ishant Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Karim Janat, and Arshad Khan
