gautam gambhir suresh raina
Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina were part of the ICC 2011 World Cup winning team Getty

Kolkata Knight Riders take on Gujarat Lions in match 38 of the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 8 May (Sunday).

Where to watch live

Match starts at 3.30pm BST/8pm IST. There is no live coverage of the game in the UK. Set Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD will telecast it live in India. Click here for the live streaming link.

Overview

League leaders Kolkata come into this game on the back of consecutive wins. With 12 points from nine games, they look comfortably placed to qualify for the knock-out stages. Gautam Gambhir, like in most of the seasons in the past, has led from the front with the bat, scoring 393 runs at an average of 56.14 with four 50s to his name while Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell have chipped in with useful knocks at various stages.

The Eden Gardens track is known to suit spinners and the Knight Riders in all probability will play the same team that beat Kings XI Punjab on 4 May, which means that despite the conditions on offer, the struggling Sunil Narine will be benched.

Gujarat Lions come into this game on the back of some disastrous results. They have lost three games in a row. In the last game their batting failed miserably with only Aaron Finch providing some thrust.

It's not often that the first two overs in a T20 game are maidens, but this is what happened against Sunrisers Hyderabad which left many surprised considering the batsman were Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith, two of the most destructive players of the modern era.
Skipper Suresh Raina will need to ensure that both the batting and bowling click against a strong Kolkata side.

Prediction

Kolkata Knight Riders to win

Betting odds (betfair)

  • Kolkata Knight Riders to win: 3/4
  • Gujarat Lions to win: 1

Team news

Kolkata Knight Riders

Possible XI: Robin Uthappa (wk), Gautam Gambhir (c), Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Shakib Al Hasan, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Brad Hogg, Piyush Chawla, Morne Morkel, Umesh Yadav.

Gujarat Lions

Possible XI: Dwayne Smith, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Finch, Suresh Raina (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Ishan Kishan, Praveen Kumar, Dhawan Kulkarni, Shivil Kaushik.

Kolkata Knight Riders Gujarat Lions Indian Premier League