After having performed superlatively well in IPL 2024, RR and KKR will look to secure a win over the other.
It will be a battle of top-2 teams in the points table as the inaugural edition champions Rajasthan Royals will take on the two-time former champions Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday. Both teams will come into the match with a win from their last matches. The Rajasthan Royals thrashed the Punjab Kings in a thrilling encounter on Saturday. KKR on the other hand, got the better of the Lucknow Super Giants in a dominant run chase.
Kolkata Knight Riders’ skipper Shreyas Iyer and Philip Salt during the match against Lucknow Super Giants (IPL)
Both teams have been in tremendous form this year losing only one encounter so far. While the table toppers RR will look to extend their reign as the no.1s, they will also be on the brink of being dethroned by KKR should they lose the encounter. KKR’s star opener Phil Salt displayed pure carnage at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday with his 89-run knock off just 47 balls and will find another run-scoring opportunity up for grabs. Rajasthan will be backing their aces Riyan Parag and Yuzvendra Chahal to unleash fury against Kolkata.
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Pitch report
The pitch at the Eden Gardens is known to help spinners and medium-paced bowlers. However, out of two games played on this track this year, one game has gone past 200 runs in both innings which indicates the possibility of a galore of runs.
In the 88 matches played at this venue in the history of IPL, 36 matches have been won by teams batting first while 52 matches have gone down to teams batting second. RR haven’t seen much daylight at Eden Gardens winning only three of the 10 encounters they have played.
Interestingly, the hosts KKR have been on a roll this year, winning both their encounters while batting in the first one and chasing in the other.
Head-to-head
Both teams have met each other on 28 occasions and do not have a huge deficit in ties with KKR winning 14 encounters and 13 of them going in RR’s favour. However, in the previous encounter against the home favourites, RR stole the show at the Eden Gardens. After having performed superlatively well this season, both teams will look to secure a win over the other.
Fantasy XI
Phil Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Sanju Samson (c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen, Mitchell Starc, Trent Boult.
