FRIDAY IPL: The Edge previews Gujarat Titans v Kolkata Knight Riders with a recommended BETDAQ bet.
Gujarat Titans v Kolkata Knight Riders
MATCH OVERVIEW:
The IPL is back in Ahmedabad on Friday as Gujarat Titans host Kolkata Knight Riders on Betdaq Betting Exchange . These two sides are definitely in need of a win here for difficult reasons; Gujarat Titans have steadily found their feet after a rocky start to the campaign – they sit mid-table with four points from five games, having won two and lost two. KKR are yet to win a game and we can say that they are in crisis now. They remain at the very bottom of the IPL table with just one point – a washout – from five games. Four heavy defeats, the bowling has been very poor and surely the pressure on captain Ajinkya Rahane is getting immense.
The IPL is an exceptionally long tournament; imagine how long it feels when you’re losing! Plus, given the playoff hopes are already effectively gone for KKR already – it must drag on. The bowling has been the central problem all season; it was flagged coming into the tournament and it has been borne out. Cameron Green – the tournament’s most expensive overseas buy – was restricted from bowling early in the season by Cricket Australia due to a back injury and has contributed little with the bat either. Narine and Chakravarthy, supposed to be the backbone of their attack, have been punished. They have had major injuries in fairness, but they have looked toothless. The most recent loss in Chennai was deflating: dismissed for 160 chasing 193. CSK looked so poor heading into that game too.
From a Gujarat Titans point of view, they will be viewing this game as a must win game against the weakest side in the competition to try jump up the table for those playoff spots. Shubman Gill also spent four seasons with KKR before moving to Gujarat Titans in 2022, where he has flourished into one of the finest batters in the competition. For KKR, they just desperately need something good to happen. Lose this and they will be adrift with a mountain to climb.
WEATHER AND PITCH WATCH:
Ahmedabad is the largest cricket stadium in the world, with a staggering capacity of 132,000; it’ll be interesting to see how the crowd numbers stack up at the end of the tournament at this venue. It’s absolutely massive. This is only the second IPL game here this season, but the ground generally provides a batting friendly surface. The first innings score here in the first fixture was 210/6 and although it wasn’t chased, the chasing side finished with 204/8. The average first-innings T20 score here sits around 175-185, and in IPL 2026 conditions, 200 has become something of a par score. It’s hard not to expect a big score here; but the KKR side look low on confidence so it’s hard to trust them.
RECOMMENDED BET:
It’s no surprise to see Gujarat Titans as the deserved favourites here. KKR have been an absolute disaster this season and there is very little evidence to suggest they are about to turn it around. Their bowling is simply not good enough to contain a Gujarat batting line-up that is full of class. The concern with Gujarat is whether their bowling can really be trusted in good batting conditions, but given KKR’s batting struggles too, I’m not sure that matters too much here. Obviously this isn’t a game for big stakes, but it’s hard to see past Gujarat here and I’m happy to take the 1.6.
The Edge Says:
One point win Gujarat Titans to beat Kolkata Knight Riders at 1.6 with Betdaq Betting Exchange
View the market here -> https://betdaq.biz/IPGuKo
IN-RUNNING STRATEGY:
The dew is going to be very important here, and if we get a heavy dew then it’s hard not to see a high scoring game here. However, I don’t have much confidence in the KKR batting here – they were poor against CSK and probably lack confidence now given their start to the tournament. If Gujarat bat first I think we’ll have a very high total here. Possibly the best angle for trading though might be if KKR bat first, score a 200+ total and then we can support Gujarat to chase it down.
