IPL 2022: Match 30 - Predicted Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI vs Rajasthan Royals

The Kolkata Knight Riders will face Rajasthan Royals in Match 30 of IPL 2022 at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on April 18. KKR desperately need to get back to winning ways having lost their previous two fixtures against the Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. They will be hoping to come good against RR who suffered a 37-run defeat to the Gujarat Titans in their previous encounter.

The two-time champions did face a seven-wicket loss against Hyderabad which not only saw a top-order collapse but, the bowlers also failed to click well as a unit as SRH ran away with an impressive win in the 18th over. Meanwhile, Kolkata would not be too keen to make too many chopping and changes in their Playing XI barring just one player who happens to be Aman Hakim Khan. He would be replaced by youngster Shivam Mavi.

Here’s the Predicted Playing XI for Kolkata Knight Riders against Rajasthan Royals:

Openers: Aaron Finch and Venkatesh Iyer

Australian limited-overs skipper Aaron Finch made his KKR debut in the last game against SRH. Unfortunately for him, it was not a memorable experience as he could only manage seven runs to his name. Since it was just his first game, the team management will not hesitate in giving him another chance to prove himself.

Iyer on the other hand has been inconsistent so far and has hardly made any impact barring an unbeaten match-winning 50 runs from 41 deliveries against the Mumbai Indians. The MP cricketer would be hoping to rediscover his rhythm on the 22 yards when he faces Rajasthan’s lethal bowling attack.

Middle-Order: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, and Sheldon Jackson (w)

Skipper Shreyas Iyer looked in good touch during his 28-run knock in the last game before he was undone by a beautiful delivery by promising speedster Umran Malik. The captain would be looking to take the responsibility in the middle-order against the Royals and make his bat do the talking.

Nitish Rana was KKR’s savior in the last match and it was his valiant knock of 54 runs from 36 deliveries that played a crucial role in Kolkata posting a respectable total of 175/8. Sheldon Jackson, who was included in the squad ahead of England limited-overs specialist Sam Billings could only manage a run-a-ball seven. The senior domestic player would be hoping to make the most of his opportunities this time around.

All-Rounders: Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, and Sunil Narine

Andre Russell has been one of the consistent performers for Kolkata this season. He scored an unbeaten 25-ball 49 in the last game and added finishing touches for KKR. Apart from that he also took the key wickets of captain Kane Williamson and in-form Rahul Tripathi and finished with figures of 2/20 from his four overs.

Apart from his destructive half-century against the Mumbai Indians, Pat Cummins has not managed to do anything exceptional and at the same time, he has neither impressed in the wickets column as well with three wickets from as many matches. The move of promoting Sunil Narine as a pinch-hitter in the last match backfired as he could only last for a couple of deliveries. It now remains to be seen whether the team management will send him once again up the order. The Caribbean mystery spinner went wicketless with the ball as well.

Bowlers: Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, and Shivam Mavi

Senior pacer Umesh Yadav was off-colored in the last game but, he is still in the Purple Cap race having registered 10 scalps to his name. The Vidharbha cricketer would be hoping to roar back into the wickets column with yet another impactful spell, especially with the new ball in hand.

Varun Chakaravarthy was economical earlier but, has not quite managed to make a mark in the wickets column with only four wickets so far. He would be hoping to bamboozle the famed Rajasthan batting line-up inKKR’s next encounter. A poor performance from Aman Hakim Khan means that he would be benched and make way for the uncapped promising youngster Shivam Mavi.

Predicted Playing XI for KKR:

Aaron Finch, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy