In the 54th match of the IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders will face Rajasthan Royals. This will be both clubs’ final league game in this season’s IPL. To keep their postseason aspirations alive, the Knight Riders must win this game. On the plus side, their net run rate is now higher than Mumbai Indians, but they don’t want to rely on the outcomes of other teams. Eoin Morgan and his team are now in fourth place in the standings with 12 points after 6 victories and 7 losses.
On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals are practically out of the competition after losing by 8 wickets to Mumbai Indians in their previous match with 70 balls remaining. Their chances of qualifying are slim, given their net run rate is far lower than that of MI, PBKS, or KKR. They would still want to give it their all in this game.
Weather
In Sharjah, it should be a mild evening with clear skies. The average temperature is forecast to be approximately 34°C.
Pitch
The wickets have been sluggish and two-paced in Sharjah, and this trend should continue in this match. While it shouldn’t be as horrible as RR made it out to be in their last game, this should be another low-scoring affair.
Probable Playing XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Tim Southee, Ventakesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Shakib Al Hasan, Shivam Mavi
Rajasthan Royals:
Sanju Samson (c&wk), Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Glenn Phillips, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Kuldip Yadav, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals – Match 54, Dream 11:
Venkatesh Iyer (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Evin Lewis, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dube, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Tim Southee, Mustafizur Rahman
Prediction
Match winner
- Kolkata Knight Riders
Winning the toss
- Kolkata Knight Riders
Top Batsman
- Kolkata Knight Riders – Rahul Tripathi
- Rajasthan Royals – Evin Lewis
Top Bowler
- Kolkata Knight Riders – Varun Chakravarthy
- Rajasthan Royals – Mustafizur Rahman
Most Sixes
- Kolkata Knight Riders – Rahul Tripathi
- Rajasthan Royals – Evin Lewis
Player of the Match
- Kolkata Knight Riders – Rahul Tripathi
Team Scores Batting First
- Kolkata Knight Riders – 155+
- Rajasthan Royals – 150+
Let’s enjoy this deciding game with Baji now! While both teams have a mathematical probability of making the playoffs, KKR will certainly advance if they win. They’ve made a fantastic turnaround this season and shouldn’t fall at the final hurdle. RR will most likely put up a fight, but the Knight Riders have much too much at stake to not give it their all and should defeat Sanju Samson’s team.