Fri 07 Apr 2017, 21:35:41

Kolkata Knight Riders have included both of their top buys - Chris Woakes and Trent Boult - in the team for their match against Gujarat Lions. Similarly, GL have also gone with their most high-profile buy of this year's auction - Jason Roy. With Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders studded with big-hitting batsmen, tonight's IPL 2017 T20 match could see a lot of runs. Gujarat Lions and Kolkata Knight Riders clash in an Indian Premier League match for the first time in Rajkot. (LIVE SCORECARD | WHERE TO SEE LIVE)

20:07 hrs IST: It has been a good start for Gujarat Lions as Jason Roy looks to be in fine touch.

GL 18/0

20:05 hrs IST: Third boundary for Jason Roy (12*). Gujarat Lions are 13/0

20:04 hrs IST: Piyush Chawla to bowl the second over for KKR. GL 9/0

20:03 hrs IST: Another boundary! One over gone, Gujarat Lions are 8/0.

20:01 hrs IST: That's the first boundary of the match as Jason Roy opens his account in this year's IPL. GL 4/0

19:59 hrs IST: Jason Roy and Brendon McCullum to open the batting for GL while Trent Boult is going to bowl the first over for KKR.

19:57 hrs IST: It's an interesting situation as KKR have gone with three foreign bowlers while all four of Gujarat Lions' foreigners are predominantly batters.

19:49 hrs IST: England opener Jason Roy will make his debut for Gujarat Lions.

19:46 hrs IST: A look at the Gujarat Lions XI: McCullum, Smith, Roy, Raina, Finch, Karthik, Gony, Praveen, Jakati, Kulkarni, Kaushik .

19:45 hrs IST: The most striking things about the KKR XI is the debut of England all-rounder Chris Woakes and also the inclusion of Trent Boult.

19:43 hrs IST: The starting XI for Kolkata Knight Riders - Gambhir, Uthappa, Pandey, Lynn, Pathan, Suryakumar, Woakes, Chawla, Yadav, Narine, Boult.

19:32 hrs IST: It can be a good toss to win for KKR as chasing has been their forte over the years.

19:31 hrs IST: Gautam Gambhir won the toss and KKR have decided to field first at Rajkot.

19:21 hrs IST: Gautam Gambhir was the one of five batsmen who scored over 500 runs in last year's tournament. The Kolkata Knight Riders' skipper scored 501 runs at 38.53 with a strike rate of121.89 in 15 innings of as many matches with five fifties last year.

19:13 hrs IST: It will be the third match between the two teams. Gujarat Lions have a perfect record against Kolkata Knight Riders. Gujarat Lions defeated Kolkata Knight Rider by five wickets when two teams met

first time at Kolkata. In the second match of the season, they defeated Shah Rukh Khan's team by six wickets.

19:07 hrs IST:

19:02 hrs IST: It's a good crowd in Rajkot for this game and the crowd can be a major support system for the home team!

18:56 hrs IST: Time for the main performance of the opening ceremony. Actor Tiger Shroff is here to perform his trademark dance moves.

18:55 hrs IST: Today's match can see the debuts of two promising Englishmen - Opener Jason Roy for Gujarat Lions and all-rounder Chris Woakes for Kolkata Knight Riders.

18:48 hrs IST: Now it's the turn of the opposing captain as Gautam Gambhir makes his entry.

18:47 hrs IST: The home captain is here! Suresh Raina makes his way to the stage on a golf cart.

18:38 hrs IST: The musical duo of Sachin-Jigar is here to entertain the crowd!

18:34 hrs IST: The festivities have started at Rajkot and traditional dancers kick off the opening ceremony.

18:29 hrs IST: Both the teams will be missing crucial players as KKR's Umesh Yadav and GL's Ravindra Jadeja will both be missing the match due to injury.

18:20 hrs IST: History is on the side of Gujarat Lions as they are still unbeaten against KKR. However, the statistic can be a bit misleading as GL have been around for just one season.

18:17 hrs IST: Welcome to the third match of the 2017 Indian Premier League! Today's match is between two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Lions.

Gujarat Lions, in their second IPL season, will be a eyeing a hattrick of wins against two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders. Both times the teams faced off in 2016, GL won chasing.

Captain #SureshRaina was in full flow during the practice session. All geared up for our 1st match against #KKR. #GameMaariChhe #GLvKKR pic.twitter.com/qEU3weWMt7

Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions had topped the league stage last year but were knocked out in the playoffs to finish third. Kolkata Knight Riders finished in 4th position.

Both teams will miss a few key players. While the Lions will miss Indian superstar Ravindra Jadeja and the injured Dwayne Bravo, Kolkata will need two quality all-rounders to fill in for Andre Russell (banned for a doping offence) and Shakib Al Hasan (on duty for Bangladesh).

But with big hitters like Brendon McCullum (GL), Raina, Aaron Finch (GL), Robin Uthappa (KKR) and Yusuf Pathan (KKR) around, it could turn out to be a run feast.

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