KKR host RR in a must-win game as both teams aim to break into the top 4

KKR welcome RR to the Eden Gardens in a do or die game for both franchise in match no 56

(Cricket news) Rajasthan Royals started IPL 2023 in an emphatic manner as they went on to win four of their first five games. The likes of Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal were bossing the batting powerplay while Shimron Hetmyer was playing the perfect role of a finisher. But their fortunes have taken a turn as they have now suffered five losses in their last six games. Hetmyer’s runs have dried up and Boult has missed a couple of games as the team management tactics have been questionable too. Always sending R Ashwin to bat ahead of Jason Holder and not making full use of the Impact Player rule have really affected their game.

Kolkata Knight Riders have five wins and six losses from 11 games but they are on their way up. After their run of 4 consecutive losses fans ruled them out of playoffs contention but all of a sudden they have got their form back after back-to-back wins. Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh are the catalyst for this upturn in form, they know that if they beat RR they will be in the top four. For KKR Sunil Narine’s form is a cause for concern for them as he has picked up just one wicket in the last eight matches at an economy of 8.60 which is subsequently the worst for him in an IPL season.

KKR

KKR are going to be unchanged and will deploy the same strategy of substituting Jason Roy with Suyash Sharma and vice versa.

Kolkata Knight Riders (probable XII): 1 Jason Roy, 2 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 3 Venkatesh Iyer, 4 Nitish Rana, 5 Andre Russell, 6 Rinku Singh, 7 Shardul Thakur, 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Harshit Rana, 10 Vaibhav Arora, 11 Varun Chakravarthy, 12 Suyash Sharma

Rajasthan team management have a lot to think about especially deciding on their fourth overseas player. Do they want to give Joe Root another chance or play Adam Zampa on a pitch that will turn or will they play McCoy or Holder as the foreign seamer? Dhruv Jurel and Kuldip Yadav will be used as Impact substitutes. Boult who missed the Royals’ game against SRH with a niggle has recovered in time to face his former team

Rajasthan Royals (probable XII): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Joe Root, 5 Devdutt Padikkal, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Dhruv Jurel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Sandeep Sharma, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, 12 Kuldip Yadav

Also read: India call-up is not far away for Rinku Singh: Harbhajan