Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will lock horns in a mid-table tussle on the Eden Gardens right here on Thursday, in a bid to enhance their possibilities of qualifying for the Indian Premier League playoffs.
KKR, having gained its final two matches, will look to maintain its revival, whereas RR, which has misplaced three on the trot, might want to arrest its downward slide.
The host will proceed to depend upon its dependable arms in batting. Openers Jason Roy and Rahmantullah Gurbaz – who underlined his value in batting and preserving, particularly within the final outing the place he took some sensational catches towards Punjab Kings – and the next batters Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh and all-rounder Andre Russell can punish any assault.
KKR depends closely on its spinners, led by Varun Chakravarthy. It would require its pacers to carry out tidily at its dwelling floor, which has seen high-scoring duels.
RR too has spinners of the caliber of Yuzvendra Chahal and R. Ashwin who present enamel to its bowling assault. But the facet wants its pacers, similar to Trent Boult and Sandeep Sharma, to supply enough assist.
RR, regardless of having a potent assault, has leaked runs profusely. The Sanju Samson-led crew, which gathered 200-plus totals thrice in its final 4 matches however misplaced two of those three fixtures, should discover a method to defend its combination.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler and Sanju shoulder most duty in RR’s formidable batting line-up.
Tied on 10 factors with three matches to go, the margin of error is minimal for each side.
Source: sportstar.thehindu.com