IPL 2017: Rising Pune Supergiant v Knight Riders, Game 30– Match Result Predictions

Kolkata Knight Riders are going through a good phase in Vivo IPL and have already won 5 matches out of 7 which places them just behind Mumbai Indians in the points table at the moment. They have been thoroughly professional in the tournament so far and apart from a couple of hiccups here and there, they have looked a pretty organised unit and looks set to book a berth in the playoffs.

Especially in their previous encounter against Royal Challengers Bangalore, the way the bowlers responded after their batters were below par goes on to show the immense character in the side. A total of 131 was nowhere close to being par on that wicket and especially with the star-studded batting line-up RCB had, they looked well on course to chase the total down with overs to spare.

But it wasn’t to be in the next 10 overs as the KKR pacers ran riot and bundled out the hosts for an unimaginable 49 in the 10th over. Nathan Coulter-Nile, Colin de Grandhomme and Chris Woakes finished with 3 wickets each while Umesh Yadav bagged the wicket of Mandeep Singh. They have some issues with the batting department but given their depth and experience, it should be just a matter of time before they get their act right yet again.

Rising Pune Supergiant has made a serious comeback in this edition by winning their last 3 encounters against Bangalore, Hyderabad and table toppers Mumbai Indians. They have been the only team in the tournament so far to beat MI and they have done it twice already. The comeback of MS Dhoni against Hyderabad was a huge plus for RPS and they will hope Dhoni again plays a blinder of a knock.

The 17-year-old Washington Sundar who is primarily a batsman has been used as a bowler by Smith in the powerplays which has turned out to be a nice move from the Aussie. The offie bagged a wicket yesterday and was quite economical during his spell. Imran Tahir has been the undisputed leader of the RPS’s attack but on occasions, he has gone for runs.

The bowling department has come good in the last few matches which have helped them defend modest scores in the last 3 matches. Especially defending 160 against Mumbai yesterday was a big effort put and they deserve all the credit for it. Finally, Ben Stokes lived up to his price tag by bowling a match winning penultimate over which ensured RPS won by 3r runs in the end.

Here is what Crictracker predicts for the game:                   

Scenario 1: RPS will win the toss

Toss Prediction: RPS choose to bowl

First innings prediction: 175-185

2nd innings Prediction: KKR win by 11 runs

Scenario 2: KKR will win the toss

Toss Prediction: KKR choose to bowl

First innings Prediction: 155-165

2nd innings Prediction: KKR will win by 7 wickets (with an over to spare)

Head to Head Record

Overall: Total Matches –2, KKR Won – 2, RPS Won – 0

Team Combinations

Rising Pune Supergiant

Rising Pune Supergiant is unlikely to tinker with their winning combination after 3 successive victories against top notch sides. The exclusion of Faf du Plessis has raised a few questions but given the stability to the team at the moment, it seems Faf has to wait to get his maiden opportunity in IPL 10.

Predicted XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Steven Smith (c), MS Dhoni (wk), Ben Stokes, Manoj Tiwary, Daniel Christian, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Jaydev Unadkat

Kolkata Knight Riders

After a sensational victory the other day Gambhir won’t tinker with his bowling line-up but if the Pune pitch offers some turn he might be tempted to bring back Shakib Al Hasan. The No.1 all-rounder across all 3 formats, Shakib’s exclusion has been a baffling move, to say the least, but given Colin de Grandhomme’s performance in the last game against RCB, you cannot question Gambhir either. The medium pacer finished with exceptional figures of ¾ to finish off the proceedings.

Predicted XI: Sunil Narine, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Manish Pandey, Suryakumar Yadav, Colin de Grandhomme, Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav

KKR have won the two encounters played against RPS but given their form, it won’t be an easy task for Kolkata to overhaul a resurgent Pune side in their home ground.

Do let us know your predictions in the comments section below.