Rajasthan Royals will be looking to make three wins in a row when they come up against Kolkata Knight Riders.
After a historic run chase against Kings XI Punjab, Rajasthan Royals (RR) gear up to face Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at Dubai International Stadium on September 30.
RR remains the only team to remain unbeaten in the Dream 11 Indian Premier League after two matchdays. It has been a run feast for RR as batting prowess has got them over the line in the last two games despite struggling with the ball.
Meanwhile, KKR opened their account in the IPL with a comfortable win against Sunrisers Hyderabad last week. Shubman Gill was the architect of the victory with fluent innings of 70 runs to chase down a modest total set by SRH.
Players to watch out:
Jos Butler: The English man couldn’t get his campaign to a flying start against KKR. He will be eager to get RR a good start on Wednesday. Butler’s recent form in white-ball cricket is worrying as he struggled against England last month. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman has a tidy record in IPL, so RR will be hoping that he finds his mojo back on Wednesday.
Sanju Samson: RR has scored/chased big runs in the first two games largely due to the explosive batting of Samson. The 25-year-old top-order batsman has scored 159 runs in 74 balls across two games. He has been hitting big sixes at will, so RR will be banking on him to deliver if the top order fails to get them a good start.
Andre Russell: KKR came close to clinching a place in the playoffs due to the batting exploits of Russell. The West Indian allrounder is difficult to stop if he gets in the groove while batting. After enduring a poor start to the campaign, Russell will be looking to find his batting rhythm against RR. If he gets going, then KKR can score/chase any total as no stadium is bigger for him.
Pat Cummins: After joining KKR for a hefty price, Cummins failed to make an impact straight away. The Australian was smashed all over the park by Mumbai Indians’ batsmen. Cummins stormed back to form in the second game by bowling an economical spell against SRH, showing exactly why he is considered as one of the best pace bowlers in the world. He will be the key man for KKR on Wednesday, Sep 30 if they want to restrict a flying RR side to a small total.
Head to Head
It is going to be a nail-biting game since both teams have a balanced head-to-head record, winning the same amount of games each other.
At the moment, RR looks to be favourites for this encounter due to the good start to the campaign. Moreover, RR has a much more balanced starting XI than KKR. However, KKR does have matchwinners in the team that can change the course of a game in no time.
By Kiran Thakare