Both the teams will hope to get back to winning ways as they clash against each other at the Wankhede Stadium.
KKR suffered their third consecutive defeat on Wednesday, as they were defeated by Chennai Super Kings by a margin of 18 runs. They will now hope to get back to winning ways, as they face another struggling side, Rajasthan Royals. Both teams are reeling in the bottom half of the table after winning one match so far.
Rajasthan Royals suffered yet another setback, as Jofra Archer is expected to be ruled out of the IPL 2021 season, as was confirmed by ECB on Friday. The franchise had earlier lost their marquee player, Ben Stokes, to injury. Liam Livingstone decided to fly back home, after citing bubble fatigue. RR have only 4 overseas players to choose from and is dealing with a depleted squad.
RR started their campaign with a loss against Punjab Kings. However, they bounced back in the very next game, as they defeated Delhi Capitals in a thrilling encounter. Since then, RR have lost two consecutive matches against CSK and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Kolkata started the season with a victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, but have failed to grab the 2 points ever since. Eoin Morgan’s men have lost three consecutive matches against Mumbai Indians, RCB and Chennai Super Kings.
Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik and Pat Cummins played some crucial knocks with the bat against CSK, while chasing down a huge total of 221 runs. The trio brought the Knight Riders back into the game, after they were reduced to a score of 31 runs for the loss of five wickets.
Key Players
Shubman Gill was dismissed for a golden duck in the last game and is yet to hit top form in this tournament. The Indian opener got a start against MI, where he scored 33 runs but failed to guide his team past the finishing line, as Rahul Chahar dismissed him. The youngster also got off to a blistering start against RCB, where he scored 21 runs off just 9 balls. However, he has managed to score just 69 runs in his four games, and he would look forward to doing well against the Royals.
Andre Russell was at his attacking best against CSK. The West Indian all-rounder scored 54 runs off just 22 balls, including 3 fours and 6 sixes. Russell had a poor season last year, but has delivered with both, bat and ball so far. He picked up a five-wicket haul against Mumbai Indians, restricting the opposition to a low score. He also scored a good knock against the Royal Challengers, but failed to take his team past the finishing line.
Jos Buttler has not been in his best touch so far. The English batsman has been disappointed in three matches and is a player short on confidence. He was dismissed for a score of just 8 runs against RCB after being clean-bowled by Siraj. Buttler’s only decent knock this season has come against Chennai Super Kings, where he scored 49 runs. In the absence of Stokes, Buttler will have to score on a consistent basis for his franchise.
Sanju Samson scored a brilliant knock in the first match against Punjab Kings, where he scored 119 runs. However, he was dismissed on the last ball of the innings, and as a result, he could not guide his team past the finishing line. The RR skipper has been disappointing ever since, with three consecutive low scores to his name. Samson could manage to score just 21 runs against RCB, despite getting off to a decent start. The Indian batsman needs to be more patient in the middle and be cautious with his shot selection at crucial junctures of the game.
Prediction
Both sides are struggling to gather any sort of momentum so far. The two sides will be desperate to get back to winning ways on Saturday to remain in contention for the playoff spots. Rajasthan bowlers failed to pick up a single wicket against RCB, as Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli piled on the misery for the Royals.
As for KKR, Eoin Morgan and Shubman Gill are yet to start firing in the tournament. KKR’s bowling has been dismal in the past two games, as they have conceded over 200 runs in their last two matches.
On paper, KKR are a better team as compared to Rajasthan Royals. However, they have failed to play as a unit that has seen them lose three consecutive games. RR are fielding a depleted squad this season, and they are expected to come up short against KKR on Saturday.
