Gujarat Titans aim to become first team to reach playoffs:GT won last five games, can KKR spoil their party?

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are set to host the Gujarat Titans (GT) on 16 April (Saturday) at the iconic Eden Gardens. GT has won the last five consecutive matches and will aim to become the first team to reach the playoffs by defeating the Knight Riders. Meanwhile, KKR must win their remaining matches (all at home) for playoff qualification, and still hope for results elsewhere to go their way. Earlier, on 17 April, Gujarat hosted Kolkata at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad in their first encounter of the season. Then, GT defeated KKR by 5 wickets in a last-over thriller. Chasing 181 runs, Shubman Gill was awarded the POTM as he scored 86 runs, facing 50 runs. KKR vs GT, match details Match: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Gujarat Titans, match 60 Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata Date: 16 May, 2026 Time: 7:30 PM IST, toss at 7:00 PM IST Where to watch: Star Sports network (Telecasting), JioHotstar (Streaming) Where to follow: Follow live updates from the match on the Bhaskar English app. KKR vs GT, head-to-head record Kolkata and Gujarat have met six times in the IPL, with GT leading the rivalry 4-1, while one game ended without a result. GT’s scores against KKR range from 181 to 204, whereas KKR’s totals span 148 to 207, highlighting the competitive and high-scoring nature of this fixture. Raghuvanshi, Tyagi aim to guide KKR in playoff qualification Angkrish Raghuvanshi is the leading run-scorer for KKR. The Kolkata batter has scored 340 runs in 11 games with a strike rate of 139.34, with an individual best of 71 in this season. Pacer Kartik Tyagi has taken 16 wickets with an economy of 8.89 in 11 matches played. His best figures of this season are 3/22. Sudharsan, Rabada aim to ensure Gujarat’s qualification berth Sai Sudharsan is the highest run-scorer for GT this season, having contributed 501 runs in 12 matches played. On the other hand, Kagiso Rabada, with 21 wickets, has been the leading wicket-taker for the two-time champions. He has conceded runs with an economy of 9.15. Balanced battle between Gill and Narine in IPL history GT captain, Shubman Gill, has scored 42 runs in 34 balls with a strike rate of 123.52 in 4 innings against Kolkata’s premium spinner in the tournament history. However, Sunil Narine could manage to dismiss Gill only twice in the past and conceded runs with an economy of 7.41. Notably, Gill and Narine were teammates from 2018 to 2021 and played for the same KKR franchise together. Eden Gardens pitch report In IPL 2026, the surface has played slightly slow, offering assistance to both pacers and spinners. Spinners have found grip and turn, while seamers benefit from early movement and uneven bounce. Despite this, the quick outfield and short boundaries, aided by surrounding practice wickets, continue to make stroke play and big hitting highly rewarding. Kolkata weather report 25% cloud cover are expected in Kolkata on Saturday evening with 10% chances of rain. According to Accuweather, the humidity will be 81%, and the temperature will hover around 29°C during the match.