KOLKATA: A resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders will look for its third victory in a row in its fight for survival when it faces a struggling Rajasthan Royals in the IPL here on Thursday.
Facing must-win scenarios, the two-time champion showed tremendous resilience to bounce back into reckoning after its wins over Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings, both in dramatic last-ball finishes.
Rajasthan may be ahead on net run rate (NRR) but the equation could change quickly if Kolkata continues its winning run, as a victory for either side will take them into the top-four.
While Kolkata is high on confidence after two thrilling wins, the Royals -- last season’s runner up -- would be at its lowest ebb after three defeats. The Royals had posted 200-plus totals but was done in by some baffling strategies in two of its three losses, which has led to a must-win scenario for it as well.
In terms of key battles and team strategies, Kolkata would once again rely on Varun Chakravarthy, who has been the central character in both its previous wins.
Having defended nine runs in the last over against SRH, Chakravarthy’s 3/26 made all the difference against Punjab Kings.
At a time its seasoned slow bowler Sunil Narine is finding it difficult to get wickets, Chakravarthy has emerged as Kolkata’s spin spearhead with 17 wickets so far this season.
While Kolkata’s think-tank refuses to give up on Narine, who has just one wicket in the last eight matches, it’s Chakravarthy’s four overs which would again be crucial.
With the Kolkata team management not bowling World Test Championship final-bound Shardul Thakur against Punjab Kings, the pace department looked woefully short on experience.
Had it not been for the heroics of Rinku Singh and Andre Russell, the seam duo of Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana had almost lost the match after leaking 36 runs in the last two overs against Punjab.
It remains to be seen if Kolkata utilises the services of a “fit-again” Shardul in the crunch match. Against a batter-heavy Royals with the likes Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson in fine form, Kolkata would hope its bowlers get their act together.
While Kolkata needs to plug the gaps in the pace bowling department, the Royals must take a fresh look at its bowling strategy.
Defending 214 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, the Royals’ decision to give Kuldip Yadav the penultimate over instead of Obed McCoy backfired as the rookie seamer conceded 24 runs.
The biggest positive for Kolkata in its win over Punjab has been the return to form of the big-hitting Andre Russell (42 runs off 23 balls).
The Jamaican was at his vintage best when he demolished Sam Curran with three sixes in a match-flipping 20-run penultimate over.
While skipper Nitish Rana has been the backbone of its batting, Rinku’s emergence as a finisher is coming off well for the team. From the Royals’ perspective, the trio of Rana, Rinku and Russell would be its main threats. Their battle against the Royals’ spin-bowling stalwarts Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs could prove to be decisive.
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