Defending champions, the Kolkata Knight Riders has endured a mixed campaign so far with three wins out of five, and will look to collect two points before they face the mighty CSK in back to back matches. They have home advantage as well as they face a Rajasthan Royal side which have lost two on the trot. Sunil Narine remains a doubt after being called for suspect action again. Predictions of thunderstorms and showers are another worrying factor for the Kolkata fans.
Gautam Gambhir has been in fine form for KKR, but the other batsmen haven’t had big knocks to bolster their confidence. Shakib Al Hasan has been missed with bat and bowl, though Johan Botha had a good opening match against SRH.Sunil Narine’s absence might not be such a huge factor considering his ineffectiveness so far. KKR have a variety of spin options to cover for the West Indian.Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel have been good as a pair, though the former needs to be more consistent.
Rajasthan Royals will look to arrest their slide in form at the eareliest as the slump has already seen them lose the first place in the standings to CSK. Rahane failed for once and the Royals batting never recovered after that. The bowlers had an off day as well as they were not able to provide any breakthroughs defending a small total against RCB. It will be interesting to see whether RR persist with the same line up or blood in new players to shake things.
A good time for KKR to face the Royals or is it a wounded tiger waiting to strike back ? Lets wait and watch !!
srikantkk 