On song RR and KKR look to one-up each other at top of the table

It is the top-of-the-table clash here in Kolkata, as an in-form Rajasthan Royals travel across to play Kolkata Knight Riders, who are unbeaten at home. While Kolkata won their first home clash batting first, they absolutely decimated the Lucknow Super Giants in the second clash chasing a paltry score. 

Meanwhile, Rajasthan were tested well in their previous clash at home by Punjab Kings, who nearly exited Mullanpur with two crucial points. If not for Shimron Hetmyer, who returned to his finishing best, Rajasthan would be staring at rare back-to-back defeats.

While there isn’t any rivalry between these two teams, there are two crucial points at stake, something that could prove to be vital towards the fag end of the competition, considering how the top two teams are benefitted in this competition. 

KKR vs RR Head-to-Head 

Overall - Games 27 | KKR 14 | RR 13

At Eden Gardens - Game 9 | KKR 6 | RR 3

Venue and Condition Details

Win the toss, opt to chase: The mantra to success here at the venue at the Eden Gardens. 

Out of the nine tosses, captains have won the toss and opted to bowl on eight occasions. But there’s a catch, only four times have teams won chasing at the venue. The trend at the venue this year is such that one team has won batting first, and the other team has won chasing. 

If teams want to defend totals, they would want to look at 200 as a par score, or otherwise just concede two points. Spinners have a huge advantage at the venue, with 2.7 wickets/innings, with an ER of 8.4, an average of 28 while pacers have an ER of 10.3 and an average of 33.2. 

Weather Forecast

It is going to be sunny in Kolkata, with a maximum temperature of 39 degrees Celsius. However, closer to the game, the temperature is set to drop down to 33, with the humidity at 47%, with only a 10% chance of precipitation. 

Things to watch out for

Rajasthan might have to find ways to tackle Narine mystery

All the talks have been about Sunil Narine the batter but as a bowler, he has absolutely stopped the run flow in the middle overs this year. He is the only spinner in this year’s IPL to be maintaining an economy of under 7. 

Narine has quietly gone about his things, with figures of 1/17 against Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday (April 14), where he did not concede a single boundary. If there is one thing that the Royals have struggled against this year, it has been spin, against whom they have a run rate of 8.2 as a batting unit. 

Not only that, even the boundaries have dried up (7.6 BPB). The fact that they have to tackle the Narine mystery in Kolkata makes it even more daunting. At the Eden Gardens, Narine averages 20.1 with the ball, with an ER of 6.3. 

This battle in the middle overs could really be the match. 

Best powerplay bowling unit vs Best powerplay batting unit

Do you want a good match-up between the bat and the ball in the powerplay? 

This is the clash you would want to witness. This year, Rajasthan Royals have been the best bowling unit in the powerplay, with ten wickets, at an economy of 8 and a stellar average of 28.7. They have really taken down several batting units in the first six overs. 

Lethal to their plans has been Trent Boult, who has picked up five wickets. But they will be up against the best batting unit in the field restriction period. 

KKR scored 11 runs an over in the powerplay, while still averaging 47.1, showing that they are not just an attacking team but also have a good stable batting unit. Crucial to that are Phil Salt and Sunil Narine, who average 38.2, with a stellar strike rate of 217.1. 

This clash will finally solve who is the best. 

Probable XIIs

Rajasthan are expecting to have Jos Buttler back in the setup after the English opener missed out on the previous clash against Punjab Kings. There isn’t any update yet on Ravichandran Ashwin, who also missed out on RR’s clash in Mullanpur. Expect Kolkata to be unchanged. 

KKR: Philip Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana (IP), Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, Rinku Singh (IP)

RR: Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Tanush Kotian / Ravichandran Ashwin, Keshav Maharaj, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Yashasvi Jaiswal (IP)

Telecast and Streaming Details

The match will be live on Star Sports Network and live-streamed on Jio Cinema. The game will start at 7.30 PM, with the toss happening at 7:00 PM. 

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