IPL 2021 | Blitzpools Prediction, Fantasy XI Tips & Probable XI for Rajasthan’s clash against Kolkata

ByBlitz, SportsCafe Editor

04/24/2021

Two flashy but inconsistent sides reeling at the bottom of the table, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals will go head to head against each other at the Wankhede on Saturday. A win would resurrect their respective seasons, but still won’t be enough to take any of the two sides into the Top 4.

Here are two contrasting sides that have endured similar fortunes thus far. With one win from four matches both these sides have started IPL 2021 in the worst fashion imaginable, and one more loss could very well do irreparable damage to their qualification hopes. Not a lot has clicked for KKR, who have come out swinging from the very first game, and for RR, there just seems to be a startling lack of quality within the side, particularly with both Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer missing from the starting XI. We’re just four games into the season, but this clash on Saturday could very well be described as a must-win encounter.

Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Form Guide

Rajasthan Royals - L L W L

In their clash against Delhi, RR produced one of the best comebacks in recent times, but things have since gone awry for the side. They were battered mercilessly by a clinical CSK side in game three, while game four saw the Royal Challengers Bangalore register one of the most comprehensive 10-wicket wins in IPL history. The lack of quality in RR’s bowling is evident, but the team would really need their batsmen to step up. Barring Samson’s century in the first game, there have been no noteworthy individual performances from The Top 4 and so the Royals will need one of their big guns to deliver a big knock, come Saturday.

Kolkata Knight Riders - L L L W

KKR’s season took a turn for the worse in the 16th over of their chase against Mumbai, and it has gone in only one direction since then - downwards. The bowlers have looked out of sorts, the top-order has been non-existent and, despite the late fightback against CSK, the Knight Riders look disjoint as a unit. It goes without saying that they will take a lot of heart from the performances of Russell, Cummins and DK with the bat against CSK, but the Knight Riders will need the trusted trio of Gill, Rana and Morgan to contribute to get their season back on track. Like RR, one more loss could see their qualification hopes get dashed early, although there’s a very long way to go.

Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Head to Head

Total - 23

RR - 10

KKR - 12

No Result - 1

Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Last Meeting

The last H2H clash between RR and KKR happened to be the last respective group games of IPL 2020 for both sides, and it turned out to be one of the most exciting games of the season. In desperate need of a heavy win to qualify, both sides went for broke from ball one. KKR posted 191 batting first, and attempting to chase the target down in under 15 overs, RR started off explosively before losing the plot to fall short of the target by 60 runs. The margin of victory was handsome, but it still wasn’t enough for KKR to make the playoffs.

Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders - Probable Playing XI

RR - Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Shivam Dube, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

KKR - Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna