Two teams that are in the bottom half of the points table will do battle in Match No.18 of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals have lost 3 out of the 4 matches that they have played in this tournament and are occupying 6th place and 8th place respectively in the points table. And, both these teams desperately need a turnaround of fortunes.
While the Rajasthan Royals have lost 2 matches in a row, the Knight Riders have completed a hat trick of losses. In their previous encounter against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the Eoin Morgan-led side showed tremendous fighting spirit.
After being reduced to 31/5 in pursuit of a target of 221, the KKR side managed to send some jitters in the CSK camp and fell short of the target by just 18 runs. And, they will be looking to cross the finish line and post a win.
The Rajasthan Royals (RR), on the other hand, were walloped by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side in their previous rubber. Even though the Sanju Samson-led side managed to post a total of 177/9 in their allotted 20 overs, the RCB openers turned the match into a no contest.
All it took for Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli was 16.3 overs to chase down the target. While Padikkal vindicated the faith that the team management reposed in him by scoring a magical century, Kohli was at his fluent best and helped himself to a masterly 72* off 47 deliveries.
So, two teams whose fortunes have been on a downside will clash against each other on 24th April 2021. Which side will manage to outdo the other and get its IPL campaign back on track?
Pitch and Conditions
The pitch at the Wankhede stadium has been a batting beauty. Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli showed how batsmen can make merry on this track if they apply themselves. The match between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on this pitch also saw as many as 422 runs being scored. Expect the willow wielders to rake up big scores on this surface.
Playing Combinations for RR vs KKR
Rajasthan Royals
The Rajasthan Royals might make a couple of changes to their side. Manan Vohra has failed to get going in spite of being provided with 4 opportunities at the top of the order, and he might not take the field against the Kolkata side on 24th April 2021. Yashasvi Jaiswal is likely to take his place. Another possible change that Rajasthan might make is, they might get Jaydev Unadkat back into the side instead of Shreyas Gopal.
Predicted playing XI: Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C and WK), David Miller, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal/Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
Kolkata Knight Riders
The Kolkata Knight Riders are likely to go in with the same side that took the field in their previous match.
Predicted Playing XI: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna
RR vs KKR Head-to-Head
Played – 23 | RR –10 | KKR – 12 | N/R – 1
RR vs KKR Broadcast Details
Match Timings – 7:30 PM IST
TV – Star Sports Network
Live Streaming – Disney+Hotstar VIP
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