IPL 2018: Eliminator, KKR vs RR, Preview - Spirited Royals aim to knock the Knights out in their own den

Will KKR be able to ride on the home advantage?

Published - 22 May 2018, 17:33 IST | Updated - 22 May 2018, 17:33 IST

4 Min Read

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) were always expected to qualify for the playoffs but they would feel that they are not starting the eliminators as the favourites. Their record at the Eden Gardens has been a mixed bag this year and have lost three out of seven matches. They will be facing the Rajasthan Royals (RR) who are coming off an exceptional win over the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RR) and will be riding high on confidence. However, it will be tough for them to trump the home side who will get the huge support from their fans in an exciting encounter.

Dinesh Karthik and his Men have a psychological advantage over their opponents going into the eliminator after recently beating them at the same venue. Though can’t afford to take things for granted considering the fact that the pressure will be on them being the hosts and are expected to win. Their bowling has been a worry this season and no have been thumped at the Eden Gardens twice. The batsmen are in excellent form and should be able to tackle the bowling of the Royals which skittled some of the best in the business in their previous encounter.

The visitors, on the other hand, are lucky to be in the playoffs after Delhi Daredevils (DD) did a favour to them by beating Mumbai in a thrilling face-off. But they were brilliant in executing their plans in the absence of their gun players like Ben Stokes and most importantly Jos Buttler who carried the batting responsibilities of his own at the top of the order. Rahul Tripathi is back in the form at the right time for them and if the skipper Ajinkya Rahane hits the straps in the match, they will have a realistic chance to go past the strong outfit of the Knight Riders.

Team Combinations

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR are unlikely to disturb the combination which defeated the table toppers in Hyderabad in their previous game. The openers Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine have found their groove even as the middle-order is doing its job perfectly for them. Even the youngster Shubman Gill has done well when his team needed and the all-rounder Andre Russell has the ability to win games single-handedly as well. The bowling looks a bit thin at times but the emergence of Prasidh Krishna has impressed everyone and is expected to bowl at the death again in this match.

Probable XI: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Javon Searles, Prasidh Krishna

Rajasthan Royals

The Royals should also go with the same XI for this crunch game and back their troops to come good once again. Rahane should slot back to his preferred opening slot along with Rahul Tripathi who was brilliant in the last match. Sanju Samson needs to play a long inning as he has tapered off after starting the season with a bang. The likes of Heinrich Klaasen and Krishnappa Gowtham are the finishers and should back themselves to do the job again.

Ben Laughlin’s inclusion has bolstered the bowling attack who will be supported by Jaydev Unadkat and Jofra Archer. The spin department is also good enough with Shreyas Gopal looking to continue her dream spell in this game as well.

Probable XI: Rahul Tripathi, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Sanju Samson, Heinrich Klaasen, K Gowtham, Stuart Binny, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ish Sodhi, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Laughlin

Focus will be on

Dinesh Karthik (Kolkata Knight Riders)

Dinesh Karthik has been able to bring the best out of his team at crunch times this year so far. They were thumped a few times by the opposition but then managed to make a resounding come back on both the occasions. As a leader, he has been standout this season and will have to motivate his boys once again to put their best foot forward. Amazingly, he has emerged as the finisher as well remaining unbeaten in most of the chases calming the nerves in the camp. Another clinical effort from him should help KKR beat the Royals.

Ajinkya Rahane (Rajasthan Royals)

Ajinkya Rahane led the side admirably well in the must-win encounter against RCB when nobody gave them the chance without the international stars in their team. They played fearlessly and again the same approach is needed from them. Rahane’s decision to have a slip even in the second half of the chase worked wonders. However, he needs to open the batting for his team and cannot afford any more experiments now. He will be comfortable opening the innings and should anchor the team with the others batting around him.