Strongest Rajasthan Royals (RR) Playing XI Against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Before the commencement of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals looked promising under the leadership of new skipper Sanju Samson. The team finished as the wooden-spooners in IPL 2020 but were expected to forget the demons of the past to script a comeback in IPL 2021. However, thus far in the tournament, the Royals have failed to produce any substantial performances.

They started their campaign with a loss against Punjab Kings but managed to win their first game against Delhi Capitals. However, the franchise has failed to capitalize on the momentum as they lost their next two games against Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore. With just one win under their belt from four games, the Royals need a quick turnaround if they have playoffs ambitions.

Here’s RR’s Predicted Playing XI for IPL 2021 Match 18

Openers (Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal)

Rajasthan Royals have an explosive opening batsman in the form of England’s wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler. When in form, the star player can do a lot of damage to any opposition in the world. However, in IPL 2021, the 30-year-old is yet to pick up his pace and contribute positively to the scoreboard. In four matches thus far, Buttler has lost his wicket at 25,2, 49, and 8.

In the match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), RR can bring a change in their opening partnership by replacing Manan Vohra with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Despite getting a good start in the four games, Vohra has failed to convert his innings into something substantial and that has affected the team badly. 

Thus, Jaiswal can be given an opportunity to open the innings. In IPL 2020, the youngster played in three matches for Rajasthan Royals and ended up with 40 runs.

Middle Order (Sanju Samson (C and WK), Shivam Dube, David Miller)

The 2008-champions are expected to make no changes to their middle-order comprising Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, and David Miller. The skipper Samson needs to regain his form with the willow to help RR make a comeback and move ahead from the last position in the points table.

Samson had a blistering start to his campaign in IPL 2021 as he scored a stunning 119 runs off 63 deliveries against PBKS. However, after a celebrated start, the batter fizzled away as hasn’t scored even 25 runs in any of the last three games. Miller, on the other hand, is the best option available for RR after Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the league.

Miller showed his character in the match against Delhi Capitals as he played a match-defining inning of 62 runs off 43 balls. Shivam Dube, on the other hand, finally found his rhythm with the willow in the match against RCB. He played a knock of 46 runs off 32 balls to help RR post 177 runs on the scoreboard.

All-Rounders (Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris)

Rajasthan Royals’ lower batting order looks pretty sorted and intimidating owing to the presence of Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, and Riyan Parag. Both Parag and Tewatia showed the damage they can do with the willow in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). The two played a leading role in propelling RR to a total of 177 for 9 while batting first.

Riyan played a short cameo of 25 runs off 16 balls while Rahul added 40 runs to the scoreboard in 23 deliveries. Morris is also capable of entertaining the viewers with some power-hitting and he gave a glimpse of the same during the match against DC.

Bowlers (Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman)

For the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, RR made a change in their bowling line-up by including Shreyas Gopal in place of Jaydev Unadkat. It was a tactical move considering the record of the leg-spinner against Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. However, the decision didn’t reap good results for the Royals as Gopal failed to pose any threat to the opposition skipper and RCB’s opening duo took the RR bowlers to the cleaners.

Thus, RR can bring back Unadkat in the playing XI as he has delivered impressive performances with the new ball in IPL 2021. Also, playing at the Wankhede Stadium, the teams prefer going with an extra pacer rather than a spin option as Wankhede is all about pace and bounce.

Apart from the inclusion of Unadkat, no other change is expected in RR’s bowling line-up as both Chetan Sakariya and Mustafizur Rahman have done a decent job with the ball.