Kolkata aim to stave off Mumbai threat
It’s a massive game for Kolkata Knight Riders as they aim to seal their qualification for the play-offs as the fourth team. They need to ensure they beat Rajasthan Royals, but also try and beat them big with the net run rate likely to be a factor. They have odds of 1.62 to win this fixture.
Rajasthan Royals come off the back of a loss to Mumbai Indians in a big game for them on Tuesday. Even a win won’t guarantee them a place in the play-offs with their fate cruelly tied to that of KKR and Mumbai. RR have odds of 2.26 to beat Kolkata Knight Riders.
Overall and recent record even
Two interesting sides, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders share a fascinating rivalry with several matches going down to the wire. Overall, the head-to-head record has very little separating the two sides. While RR have 11 wins, KKR have 12.
RECOMMENDED BET: KKR have a strong side on paper, and with Andre Russell set to return, they are likely to succeed. Back Kolkata at 1.62 to beat Rajasthan!
In the last three seasons, KKR are just about ahead with a 3-2 win-loss record. Rajasthan, though, beat them earlier this year in the head-to-head fixture at Wankhede.
Keep an eye on…
Andre Russell: He is crucial to balancing the KKR side and will inevitably be pushed to play this fixture to get them through to the play-offs. RR don’t really have the kind of pace or hit-the-deck seamers to trouble Russell and might suffer.
TIP: Andre Russell, if he plays, is bound to be given a free license to dig into the Rajasthan attack. Support Andre Russel at 8.00 to be KKR’s top batter!
Rajasthan’s top-order: Kolkata Knight Riders have struggled in the powerplay with the ball and RR have flourished with the bat. This makes the contest a rather interesting one and we could see the game changing in this phase – especially if the likes of Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson get going.
