IPL 2019 RR v KKR: Match Preview, Pitch Report, Likely XI, Prediction and Players to watch

Will KKR be able to repeat the 2014 show with flurry of victories?

Languishing at number 6 after 5 successive defeats Kolkata Knight Riders must win the game against Rajasthan at Eden Gardens to keep their playoff hopes alive. Rajasthan is placed seventh on the points table and even in case of winning all 4 games from here, could find themselves out of the playoff race. Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer the crux of the RR outfit are set to leave for national duties after this fixture. It would be interesting to see how that gap gets filled by other capable players in the squad. They will be replaced by Liam Livingstone and Oshane Thomas.

Ajinkya Rahane made a scintillating ton in their last game but was overshadowed by a brilliant knock from Pant. The opener coming back to form is good news for the Smith led side. Jayadev Unadkat has also got into his groove and is sending down fiery yorkers in the death overs.

Head coach Jacques Kallis had earlier said that reports of Dinesh Karthik being stripped of captaincy duties in light of recent poor performances was false. The South African feels the team could replicate the 2014 stint when they won their second title with 9 wins on the trot.

Image credit: Twitter @IPL

A major worry for team management has been non-performance of the spinners on helpful tracks. Kuldeep Yadav has largely been off colour and Narine hasn't put up a match-winning show yet. Along with Piyush Chawla, the trio has picked up just 16 wickets from 10 games which has meant the batsmen have been under extra pressure.

Carlos Braithwaite is expected to replace Chris Lynn who has been inconsistent with the willow. Shubhman Gill could open the batting and Russell could finally bat higher in the order.

Pitch and Weather: A flat track with good bounce and pace. Humidity should be a challenge. But dew is again expected to be the game-changer. The weather will be too hot in Kolkata on Thursday. It will cool down in the evening though and the temperature will hover around 28-29 degrees Celsius.

Points to ponder:

1. Dinesh Karthik after being chosen ahead of Rishabh Pant in the WC squad is under serious fire and needs to put up a better show with the bat.

2. The overreliance on Andre Russel has been firmly exposed and we can expect the skipper to ring in some changes.

Stats to Note

1. The last time Royals beat Knight Riders was way back in 2015. Of course, Royals didn't play in the 2016 and 2017 seasons, but they have lost their last four clashes against Knight Riders. Worse, they have won only one of their eight matches in Kolkata in all these years of the IPL.

2. Karthik's average of 16.70 is his second-worst in any IPL season and his worst since IPL 2016. It's a steep fall after averaging nearly 50 in 2018.

3. Rahane is 87 runs away from the 5000 marks in T20s and Stokes needs two sixes to reach 100

Head to Head in IPL

The teams have played 19 matches against each other. KKR has won 10 while Rajasthan have triumphed 9 times.

Probable XI: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Yarra Prithviraj, Prasidh Krishna

Probable XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Stuart Binny, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni

Broadcast details:

Timing – 8 pm

Venue – M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Where to watch – Star Sports 1/1HD/1 Hindi/1HD Hindi/1 Tamil/1 Telugu/1 Kannada/1 Bangla/Select 1/Select 1HD. Online viewers can catch the action live on Hotstar.