KKR vs RR, IPL 2019 Build-up: Kolkata Knight Riders clash with Rajasthan Royals on Thursday.
KKR vs RR, IPL 2019 Build-up: Kolkata Knight Riders have suffered five defeats on the trot, exposing their over-reliance on Andre Russell, and skipper Dinesh Karthik has copped criticism for not promoting the big-hitting West Indian up the order. Chosen ahead of the young Rishabh Pant in the World Cup squad in a debatable decision, the Tamil Nadu veteran, who was KKR’s leading run-getter last season, is struggling for runs with an average of 16.71 from nine outings.
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Clinging to one spot below KKR at seventh in the eight-team standings, Rajasthan Royals’ fate too hangs by the thread. Ajinkya Rahane roared back to form with an elegant century but his efforts went in vain as RR lost to Delhi Capitals in their last match.
Rajasthan Royals win toss, elect to bowl
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We are building up to the match.
If he gets the opportunity tonight, Carlos Brathwaite would like to 'get one up' on Ben Stokes once again.
"We haven't been able to capitalise on important moments in the game, that's why we have found ourselves on the losing side." - Stuart Binny on Rajasthan Royals' disappointing campaign so far.
"The mood in the camp is (still) good. As professionals, we cannot let results alter our demeanour or the mindset." - Carlos Brathwaite on KKR's morale after five consecutive defeats.
Predicted Playing XI: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Yarra Prithviraj, Prasidh Krishna
Predicted Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Stuart Binny, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni
RR Predicted XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Sanju Samson (WK), Steve Smith (C), Ashton Turner, Ben Stokes, Riyan Parag, Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Varun Aaron, Jofra Archer
KKR predicted XI: Sunil Narine, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Carlos Brathwaite, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Harry Gurney and Prasidh Krishna
Shreyas Gopal and Jofra Archer of Rajasthan Royals feature in the Purple Cap list. None of the KKR players have a spot in the top ten wicketakers list.
PURPLE CAP LIST
Kolkata Knight Rider's Andre Russell features in the Orange Cap list, having scored 392 in 10 matches this season.
ORANGE CAP LIST
Kolkata Knight Riders tand on the sixth position in the IPL 2019 Points table. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals sit at the bottom of the table as RCB won the match last night and earned eight points.
IPL POINTS TABLE
Kolkata Knight Riders started this season of Indian Premier League 2019 on a high. The side led by Dinesh Karthik has lost their previous five games and now need to win every match to rekindle hopes of making it through the play-offs. Up against them will be another side, who are at the bottom half of the table and need to pull off win in every games to make it through to top four - Rajasthan Royals.
KKR vs RR PREVIEW
Hello and welcome to our buildup for the IPL match in the evening between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals. Stay tuned for the Predictable playing xi and other news that comes up ahead of the match