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Match Details
Date: 18 April 2022
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: Brabourne Stadium
Ball-by-ball commentary: SportsTiger App
Preview
The 30th match of IPL 2022 will have Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals up against each other at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Both teams are coming on the back of a loss and have slipped to the fourth (RR) and sixth position (KKR) in the points table. While KKR failed to defend 175 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, RR could not chase 193 against Gujarat Titans. Now, as both teams meet on Monday, they will hope to regain the lost momentum.
Pitch Report
The pitches at Brabourne Stadium have been on the high-scoring side. The average first innings total at the venue this season has been 191. Although bowlers have struggled to get help from the pitch, spinners have had some luck. Meanwhile, pacers have been expensive.
Team Analysis
Rajasthan Royals:
After starting the tournament on a roll, RR have suddenly found some weak links. Their middle order is not coming together as they are experimenting with the batting positions, and death overs are becoming a concern. Trent Boult missed the game against Gujarat which probably cost them too much.
In batting, the chase looked possible until Jos Buttler was there. This heavy reliance on 2-3 players can prove costly for RR. But the management will not be too much worried with one loss and will look for making one or two changes. Riyan Parag may be finally asked to sit out and make way for Karun Nair.
SportsTiger Playing XI of RR
Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Rassie van der Dussen, Karun Nair, Shimron Hetmyer, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen
Kolkata Knight Riders:
The two-time champions have some issues to sort out before going into the game against Rajasthan. The management may have a hard talk with the openers as a change has also not worked for KKR. Aaron Finch and Venkatesh Iyer could not click against SRH which the management would have taken a note of. Nitish Rana finally getting a big score, however, may have brought some relief in the camp. Shreyas Iyer will also need to get his rhythm back and play a captain's innings. In the bowling department, Pat Cummins' form has been an issue. Otherwise, KKR look settled.
SportsTiger Playing XI of KKR
Aaron Finch, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Aman Hakim Khan, Varun Chakravarthy
Match Prediction
Conclusion
Although RR failed to chase a total against Gujarat, the team is capable of turning things around. Trent Boult's return will only boost their campaign.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.