suresh raina
Suresh Raina will return to the squad after missing his first IPL match in nine years due to the birth of his child Getty

Gujarat Lions take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the 51st match of the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) at Green Park in Kanpur on 19 May (Thursday).

Where to watch live

Match starts at 3.30pm BST/8pm IST. Live coverage of the game is available on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1 HD in the UK. Sony Max, Sony Six and Sony ESPN will telecast it live in India.

Overview

Coming into the clash after being hammered by 144 runs by Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last game, the Lions will know that wins in their last two games will ensure qualification, but a top-two finish will depend on other teams' results due to their dismal run rate of -0.747.

Skipper Suresh Raina is back after missing the last game due to the birth of his child, while the top order must fire after starting so well in the tournament.

Aaron Finch batting at number five makes no sense, considering the form he is in. The team management might decide on dropping Dwayne Smith and bringing in James Faulkner.

Their opponents too come into this game on the back of a loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore. They have similar points as Gujarat with 14 but their net run rate is higher. A win for the Kolkata outfit will see them qualify but skipper Gautam Gambhir will want to ensure that his team win both their remaining encounters.

Their batting has looked good with everyone chipping in with crucial knocks at important moments while in Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla and Shakib Al Hasan they have three spinners who are more than a handful on slow, turning tracks.

Prediction

Kolkata Knight Riders to win

Betting odds (betfair)

  • Gujarat Lions to win: 5/6
  • Kolkata Knight Riders to win: 5/6

Team news

Gujarat Lions

Possible XI: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Suresh Raina (c), Aaron Finch, Dinesh Kathik, Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Dhawal Kulkarni, Pravin Tambe, Shivil Kaushik.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Possible XI: Robin Uthappa, Gautam Gambhir (c), Manish Pandey, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Colin Munro, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Ankit Rajpoot, Morne Morkel.

Gujarat Lions Kolkata Knight Riders Indian Premier League