Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Struggling KKR against confident RR

The two-time champions have fallen out of luck as they would be coming after facing five defeats on a trot. They are placed in eighth place with six losses in 9 matches played. Due to continuous efforts to find the best batting combinations, the Kolkata Knight Riders' batting order looks inconsistent. Unsettled top-order has left the team in jeopardy. Shreyas Iyer led team will look to play fearless cricket and win games. Apart from an unsettled batting line-up, the team also lacks a viable fifth bowler. Coming after five losses to play against one of the strongest teams of this season would be a challenging task for Knight Riders.

On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals, too, are coming after facing a harsh defeat from Mumbai Indians, halting their three-match win streak. The match highlighted how much their batting line-up is dependent on Jos Buttler. If he doesn't perform, the complete team stumbles. This issue needs to be addressed if they qualify for playoffs and are targeting finals. They might include Rassie van der Dussen to add stability in the middle order. 

Pitch Report

The pitch at Wankhede Stadium offers high scoring matches. A minor dew factor might be seen; hence captain winning toss might opt to bowl first. 

Probable Playing XI

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Daryl Mitchell, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana

Stats to keep an eye on

• Sanju Samson has fallen thrice to Sunil Narine, the second-most against a spinner in IPL. 
• This season, Kolkata Knight Riders' average opening stand has been 14.2, the second-lowest behind Chennai Super Kings at 12.6.
• Umesh's nine wickets at the Wankhede are the joint-most by a bowler at the ground this season. Kuldeep Yadav also has as many at the Brabourne.
• Buttler's 566 runs are the most that a Royals batter has got in a single season. 

Rajasthan Royals defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous face-off to earn two points. It will be interesting to see if Knight Riders can turn things around in their favour this time.