Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) hang by a thread, with their playoff chances demanding too much of them. They did not have an ideal title defense campaign. In fact, for the most part, the side seemed at sea. But if there ever were a time for them to get the fog out of their mind, this is it. Even if they gear up to face Rajasthan Royals (RR) at their home venue, where they have only won one out of four games this season, in a day game, which will be their second this season, with the only other being against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), in which they fell short by 4 runs.
RR shouldn’t be too difficult a challenge for KKR. They are already out of the race for the playoffs and have lost 6 out of their last 7 games. But that solitary win came against none other than Gujarat Titans (GT) themselves. And if looked at closely, RR won that game purely because they threw caution to the wind, which they can do in this game as well, with not much on the line. Should this happen, they could prove to be threatening to KKR’s survival.
Team Overview:
Can Rahmanullah Gurbaz finally fire for KKR? This seems like stuff for the classics. A player who spent the entire season on the sidelines enters the side and turns their fortunes upside down. Except Gurbaz hasn’t really been his best for the franchise in any of the seasons. He looked incredible against Delhi Capitals (DC) but could not add much to his final score, departing for 26 off just 12 balls. But he and Sunil Narine did make sure to give KKR the sort of start they haven’t seen many times this season. Kolkata ended up scoring 79 runs in the powerplay. However, Venkatesh Iyer’s middling season seems nowhere near ending. Despite being their most pricey asset this year, he managed only 142 runs in 11 games, striking at an unassuming rate of 139. Like him, the rest of the middle order has largely struggled to put runs on the board this year. Kolkata’s middle order has the worst batting average (21.29) of all teams.
Ajinkya Rahane might be unavailable for the game. Rovman Powell seemed optimistic about his captain’s availability for the game, but his short net session on Saturday signalled something else.
Leading the bowling attack, Narine and Varun Chakravarthy have resuscitated Kolkata many times this year, forming one of the best spin attacks among all teams.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi took RR all the way in an upset against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but he definitely couldn’t be expected to carry the side in all of their remaining games. Their hundred-run loss at the hands of Mumbai Indians (MI) was evidence enough for that. While Suryavanshi’s fastest century came as a revelation for RR for their next campaign, it also pointed out where the side had lacked the entire season. Their batting lineup, barring Yashasvi Jaiswal, not only lacked consistency but also the ability to gel together for impactful totals, which was due to an imbalance within the lineup.
Head-to-Head Matches:
KKR and RR have played 30 games against one another and share an almost equal record. KKR, being the slightly better side, won 15 games, while RR came out on top in 12. Three games ended without any result.
Weather and Pitch Report:
Eden Gardens has seen teams breaching the 200-run mark four times this season, and two of those instances came in a day/night game between KKR and LSG. But that was almost a month ago. The climate has seen enough changes since then to ensure dryness persists in the pitch, though the temperature over the last few days has dropped a little. There are some chances of rain playing the spoilsport, but the maximum damage it could do would be reducing a few overs.
Prediction:
KKR have their survival on the line, and they will try to go to any lengths to ensure their defense campaign does not die a premature death.
Where to Watch:
India: Star Sports Network, JioHotstar
UK: Sky Sports, SkyGo
USA: Willow TV
Australia: Kayo TV, Foxtel Go
Bangladesh: T Sports, Toffee app
New Zealand: Sky Sports NZ
Afghanistan: ATN
South Africa: SuperSport
Sri Lanka: Dialog
MENA: Cricbuzz
