IPL 2021: Match 18, RR vs KKR Match Prediction – Who will win today’s match?

Preview

Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) confidence must have hit rock-bottom after their 10-wicket defeat at the hands of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL). Their net run rate, which is at -1.001, also took a massive jolt.

Being placed at the bottom of the points table, Sanju Samson and Co are set to lock horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Saturday, April 24. The Knights, on the other hand, tried their hearts out against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Mumbai, but lost the match by 18 runs.

They slumped to 31 for five inside the powerplay after which their batters made a comeback. On a head-to-head count, the Knights are leading the Royals by a small margin. But keeping in mind their current form, KKR can be said to have an upper hand.

Match Details

Match – Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders – 18th match

Venue – Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Time – 7:30 PM IST, 02:00 PM GMT

Where to watch live – Star Sports Network, Hotstar

Pitch Report

The pitch at the Wankhede Stadium hasn’t had much for the bowlers to work with. The batters have mostly made hay and the track hasn’t changed in nature during the course of a match.

Batting second should be the way forward. There will be clouds, but with no chance of rain. The temperature will be around 30 degrees Celsius with the humidity in the high-60s.

Avg first innings score: 180 (8 matches in IPL 2021 at the Wankhede)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 5, Lost – 3, Tied – 0

Probable Playing XIs:

Kolkata Knight Riders

Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Bench: Karun Nair, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Ben Cutting, Pawan Negi, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Vaibhav Arora, Sandeep Warrier, Harbhajan Singh, Shakib Al Hasan, Shivam Mavi

Rajasthan Royals

Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Shivam Dube, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat/Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

Bench:  Liam Livingstone, Yashasvi Jaiswal/Manan Vohra, Mahipal Lomror, Shreyas Gopal/Jaydev Unadkat, Andrew Tye, Anuj Rawat, Akash Singh, Jofra Archer, KC Cariappa, Mayank Markande, Kuldip Yadav, Kartik Tyagi

Head-to-Head

Overall

Played – 23 | Kolkata Knight Riders – 12 | Rajasthan Royals– 10 |N/R – 1

At neutral venues

Played – 8 | Kolkata Knight Riders – 3 | Rajasthan Royals– 5 |N/R – 0

Probable best batsman of the match

Jos Buttler– Rajasthan Royals

Jos Buttler has shown signs of brilliance in the ongoing edition of the tournament. With a top score of 49, he has scored 84 runs at a strike rate of 133.33. But he has every chance of getting his form back against KKR.

Buttler has racked up 240 runs against the Kolkata-based franchise at an average and strike rate of 34.29 and 140.35 respectively. He doesn’t have a fifty with a top score of 41.

Probable best bowler of the match

Pat Cummins– Kolkata Knight Riders

Pat Cummins has had his travails in the T20 league as he only has four wickets from as many games. The economy rate of 9.12 suggests that he hasn’t been able to keep the batters in check either.

But against the Royals, he has impressive numbers. In seven overs, he has picked up five wickets with a four-wicket haul. He also bowled at an economy rate of 6.71 and RR can’t afford to undermine him.

Today’s match prediction: Kolkata to win the match.

Scenario 1

Kolkata win the toss and bowl

Powerplay score – 50-55

First innings score – 175-195

Kolkata win the match

Scenario 2

Rajasthan win the toss and bowl

Powerplay score – 55-60

First innings score – 195-215

Kolkata to win the match

Disclaimer: This prediction is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While making your prediction, consider the points mentioned, and make your own decision.