IPL 2019 – Match 21: Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders – KKR Predicted Playing XI

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) registered one of their finest wins of the season against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Andre Russell, as usual, was on fire once again and got KKR over the line. KKR will not have a long break before they play their next game. They would possibly use one day for travelling and will be in action the following day (Sunday) facing the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Jaipur.

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium has been a highly eventful venue for the home team. Beating RR at their home will be tough for Dinesh Karthik and co. But it is definitely not impossible looking at the way Russell is playing. KKR will look to make one change to their bowling department ahead of the next game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, known as RR’s fortress.

Here is the Predicted Playing XI for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR):

Openers (Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine)

Chris Lynn finally broke the shackles in the game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. He hardly scored any runs before the game at the Chinnaswamy. Lynn scored 43 off 31 balls in the last game and also dispatched one out of the park. This knock should increase his confidence progressing forward in the tournament.

Sunil Narine also bowled decently well against RCB. Even though Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers went hard after the bowlers, the off-spinner gave away just 30 runs and dismissed the South African. Narine will hope to give his side a good start with the bat in the next game.

Middle Order (Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shubman Gill)

Robin Uthappa has found his touch back this season and is playing some classy cricket. He is not trying to hit the ball hard by any means and is timing it beautifully. His role will be to hold the middle order together. Nitish Rana, on the other hand, started off well in the last match. However, his innings got extremely sluggish as it progressed and he wasn’t able to manufacture boundaries. Rana will look to make up for the poor knock in the last game.

Just like Rana, Dinesh Karthik also had a torrid time in the middle. By the looks of things, he attempted to take the game deep. However, he was largely unsuccessful with that and could only score 19 off 15 balls. He was also dropped by Kohli in between. Shubman Gill is hardly getting batting opportunities but will continue in the eleven.

All Rounders (Andre Russell)

Give him 36 runs to hit in the last over and he might even chase that. That is the kind of form Andre Russell has been in recent times. He is dispatching everything out of the park and all he needs to do is make some contact with the bat, even if it is an edge. Moreover, he multiplies as a very handy bowler and can offer a few crucial wickets.

Bowlers (Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Harry Gurney, Prasidh Krishna)

There is no question of replacing Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav in the eleven. Even though they might go for a few runs, they pick handy wickets at crucial times. When under pressure in the last game, Kuldeep picked up the prized wicket of Virat and more of such sorts is expected from the wrist spinners.

KKR might replace Lockie Ferguson with Harry Gurney. Lockie has bowled quick but leaked a lot of runs. Gurney, on the other hand, has got a lot of variations up his sleeve and KKR should try him once. Prasidh Krishna will complete the bowling line-up. There would be talks of having Sandeep Warrier in the eleven but Prasidh might get one more opportunity.

[interaction id=”5ca630264869a831a3d1f2fa”]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from the Indian Premier League (IPL), Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.