Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders Preview: The Knights set to trump the Royals

It’s the battle of the laggards as Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders end their Mumbai leg of matches with a match on Saturday. This match #18 will be played at the Wankhede Stadium.

Rajasthan have one win and three losses in their four matches so far, with only the narrow three-wicket win over Delhi Capitals the exception. Kolkata, on the other hand, also have three losses and one win including one loss at this venue.

Rajasthan Royals continue to flounder, as captain Sanju Samson’s runs have dried up after his scintillating century (145 runs, SR 162.92). The Royals desperately need Jos Buttler (84 runs, SR 133.33) to reclaim his form, even though Shivam Dube’s knock in the latest match is a big positive.

Chetan Sakariya (six wickets, ER 8.43) continues to be their best bowler, but the fact that he is their best economical bowler is a concern. Chris Morris (SR 154.83) needs to be more than a flashy batsman, while his bowling is still not up to the mark (ER 9.92).

Manan Vohra may have outlived his stay, while the Royals will also ponder over their bowling combination.

The Knight Riders came agonisingly close to upset Chennai thanks to the heroics of Andre Russell and Pat Cummins. Nitish Rana’s form with the bat (164 runs, SR 130.15) remains their best bet to come out of the rut. Captain Eoin Morgan (45 runs, SR 112.50) is surely feeling the heat.

Bowling has been a massive disappointment as Varun Chakaravarthy (four wickets, ER 8.06) remains their most economical bowler. Pat Cummins and Prasidh Krishna have also struggled with more than 9.00 runs per over.

Kolkata could be looking at bringing Lockie Ferguson or Tim Seifert into the side to shore up things. Shubman Gill may also feel the heat as he continues to search for runs.

Kolkata Knight Riders have a 12-10 win-loss record against Rajasthan Royals and have won six of their last seven matches against Rajasthan including two last season.

The first match saw Gill (47) and Shivam Mavi (2/20) do the star turn for KKR in a 37-run win. The second match saw Morgan (68) and Pat Cummins (4/34) do most of the damage enroute a 60-run win.

Rajasthan Royals have a lot of problem areas throughout their batting order. They may look to bring in a new opener to cover up for Vohra’s poor form. Bowling has struggled too, and the morale in the team camp is currently very poor. Kolkata are going through a similar phase, with the openers struggling to give good starts and the bowlers struggling for control. The main worry for KKR though is that they may have to bench Andre Russell or Pat Cummins to shake up things.

Both Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders are struggling big time, but we are backing KKR to get back among the wins here. There is enough firepower in the Kolkata unit which should help them win the sixes battle and the powerplay scores. For individual picks, Russell could be a good choice to find a couple of maximums.