IPL 2018, Match 49, KKR vs RR Match Prediction: Who will win the match today, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals?

Both Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals are well and truly alive in the race to the playoffs of Indian Premier League (IPL) 11, but they are on the fringes. They require 4 points for straight qualification which means they need to win both their remaining games. Whoever loses tomorrow will get into the Net Run Rate scenario where the results of some of the other games will become relevant in deciding their fate.

What’s good for both teams is that they are coming into this game with some positive momentum. While KKR won their last game quite emphatically against the Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan toppled the defending champions Mumbai Indians in their own den.

Pitch and Conditions

The Eden Garden surface will be quick as it has been for most parts of this tournament. It doesn’t quite grip and spin and remain true for full 40 overs. While that’s good from a batting point of view, you need to have a sound back-foot game to score runs at this venue as the fast bowlers get good amount of carry off the deck and you can be exposed out if you have issues against pace and bounce.

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Playing Combination

Kolkata Knight Riders

Probable Changes – No Change

KKR have found the right combination with their XI and they aren’t likely to tinker with it too much going ahead unless they are forced to do so because of the injuries. While Prasidh Krishna has settled into the role of the second seamer nicely, Piyush Chawla has also been consistent enough to justify his spot in the XI.

Sunil Narine at the top of the order has been hit and miss, but whenever he has come off, he has won KKR the game. There is no chance they will entertain the thought of removing him from the opening slot, but they will want a bit more contribution from his opening partner Chris Lynn.

Predicted XI: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (C & WK), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Prasidh Krishna, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav

Rajasthan Royals

Probable Changes – D’Arcy Short and Shreyas Gopal out, Rahul Tripathi and Ish Sodhi in

D’Arcy Short has not really set the stage on fire this IPL. He has found it really difficult to adapt to the nature of the Indian pitches and has failed to give Rajasthan a brisk start. They gave him another opportunity in the previous game, but it resulted in another failure and he might just be done for the tournament. Rahul Tripathi is another opener in Rajasthan’s squad and they might get him back in to pair him up with Jos Buttler with Ajinkya Rahane continuing to bat at 3.

As Short goes out, Rajasthan will have the overseas slot available to pick Ish Sodhi who has looked in good rhythm in the couple of games he has played but hasn’t been able to fetch enough wickets. The visitors will expect a fruitful spell from him if he plays.

Predicted XI: Rahul Tripathi, Jos Buttler, Ajinkya Rahane (C), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Ish Sodhi, Dhawal Kulkarni, Jaydev Unadkat

Team Comparison

Rajasthan has had Buttler firing for them non-stop, but the form of other batters is an issue. Ajinkya Rahane is playing anchor, but he is not batting long enough and is getting out after consuming a lot of deliveries without setting the ideal platform. The skipper probably needs to bat with a bit more intent at no. 3, while Ben Stokes has to show what he is capable of down the order. The English left-hander has massively underperformed this season.

KKR had a near perfect game against Punjab, but they must not make the mistake of believing that there aren’t any loopholes in their line-up. The pace bowling is still a worry as it hasn’t been consistent for a long period of time, while their X-factor Kuldeep Yadav has struggled with his rhythm as well.

Probable Top Performers

Dinesh Karthik (Kolkata Knight Riders), Ish Sodhi (Rajasthan Royals)

Head to Head

Matches – 16, Kolkata Knight Riders – 7, Rajasthan Royals – 7, Tie – 2

The timing of the match: 08:00 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports 1, Star Sports Hindi, Star Sports Select 1

Online – Jio TV, Hotstar

The prediction is for the Kolkata Knight Riders to beat the Rajasthan Royals in this match.