IPL is a tournament which keeps the teams and its fans on tenterhooks and almost becomes a guessing game for the ones to qualify for playoffs. Similar is a situation wherein a team is literally waiting to enter playoffs after a long hiatus whereas one has almost lost its chances to qualify due to a below par performance. It’s the clash of the diagonals of India, the clash of the East and the North, clash of the Royals and Knights.
Kolkata Knight Riders:- With them currently being placed at 4th in the points table, they have to win today’s match at any cost and also ensure the win is such that it would tighten the screws for Mumbai Indians to enter the ring for playoffs. With Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore sealing their playoffs spot clearly, the fight for the final berth of the playoffs is a tiff between Kolkata and Mumbai. Kolkata had a comfortable victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad, thanks to a belligerent 50 from Shubman Gill. But the drubbing which Rajasthan got from Mumbai had lit up chances for Mumbai to qualify. Kolkata now has a big task ahead of it, to clinch the match against Rajasthan Royals and ensure Mumbai pull off a big heist to get qualified for playoffs. Coming to the news for KKR franchise, fans could see Andre Russell and Lockie Ferguson practising in the nets which sends them positive vibes ahead of the big clash.
Rajasthan Royals:- The Royals have been a puzzle to the IPL fanatics. They pulled a heist against the Punjab Kings thanks to a breathtaking spell from Kartik Tyagi denying the Kings a win and pocket two points to the Royals. Then, they didn’t show much glimpse or effort in their next losses but then pulled out the dynamite against the Chennai Super Kings where the batting unit took the CSK bowlers all around the park. But after that, they were drubbed heavily by the Mumbai Indians and now are in a critical position of qualifying for the playoffs or spoiling other’s chances to enter the playoffs. The Royals had the support of Buttler, Archer, Stokes in the first half and they had like to like replacements in the second leg, but the performance as a team doesn’t sit well with the way they are travelling. Evin Lewis has been a great addition and adding firepower at the top with Yashashwi Jaiswal and the rest of the batting unit are sparking at times. Bowling has been a big worry with Tewatia not coming to the party and Morris, the costliest player, getting bashed all over the ground. Fizz and Sakariya have been trying to ensure that the bowling unit would always be in positive vibes and perform to their best.
Venue and Time:- Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah at 19:30 IST on 07 October, 2021.
Live Streaming:- Star Sports Network and Disney Hotstar VIP and Premium Account will be streaming Match 54 of VIVO IPL between RR and SRH.
Expected Playing 11:-
KKR:- Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan / Andre Russell , Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson / Tim Southee.
RR:- Evin Lewis, Yashashwi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Shivam Dube, Glenn Philips, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman, Kuldip Yadav
Stats:-
- Head to Head Record overall:- KKR(12) – RR (11).
- Head to Head in last 5 matches: KKR (4) – RR (1).
- The last time the two sides met, RR won against them in 18.1 overs courtesy a 41-ball 42 by Sanju Samson and the MOM was Chris Morris for his 4/23.
- RR’s highest run scorer this season is Sanju Samson who is an ex-KKR player while highest run scorer for KKR is Rahul Tripathi who is an ex-RR player.
Qualification Scenarios:-
- If KKR win, then RR and PBKS are officially out of the tournament while MI needs to pull off a mega heist to qualify.
- If KKR lose, then RR and PBKS survive while MI would need just a win to qualify.
- If RR somehow manage to beat KKR by approximately 125 runs, they will go ahead of KKR in terms of NRR. They would also need MI to lose by 40 runs or more to SRH apart from PBKS losing their final league game to CSK in order for RR to qualify.
- If KKR score 150 and win by 10 runs, then if MI score 200, they will need to get SRH all out on 88 or lesser qualify.
- If KKR score 150 and win by 10 runs, MI will need to chase down a total of 100 (if set up by SRH), in a maximum of 7 overs in order to qualify.
- If KKR score 150 and win by 1 run and if MI score 200, then they need to get SRH all out for approximately 99 or below in order to qualify.
- If KKR score 150 and win by 1 run, MI will need to chase down a total of 100 (if set up by SRH) in approximately a maximum of 8 overs in order to qualify.
Pitch Report:-
The deck has been really slow and the ball isn’t coming on nicely to the bat. Due to the slowness of the surface, the batsmen are facing difficulty in making great connections. Reaching the 150-run mark is taking a lot of effort from the batsmen.
Predictions:-
KKR are firm favourites to win this match as they look a better side on paper as well as on field performances compared to RR. Toss will play a key role in deciding the result of this match, the team which wins the toss is expected to field first as batting second has been relatively easier compared to batting first on this pitch in past matches.
Dream 11 Fantasy Team:-
