The 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season continues to roll on with its quota of thrilling matches. After the last ball thriller on Monday, where Rinku Singh won the game for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens, the Knights once again play host to the Rajasthan Royals (RR). KKR and RR are placed identically on the points table, with Rajasthan ahead of the net run rate. As the two teams face off in a highly anticipated match, KKR will look to maintain consistency, whereas the Royals will aim to avoid a fourth straight defeat. A win for either team will push them into the top four. For KKR, it is a must-win contest in each game they play. In the last match, they showed their bouncebackability which took them to number six from eighth on the points table. The biggest positive for KKR from the last match is consistency and several players firing in unison. Rinku, Russell, Rana, Roy and Chakravarthy all came good on the day. This was something that KKR were desperate for and had often lacked in this tournament. pic.twitter.com/Ez1D1jYFoa — KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) May 10, 2023 Varun Chakravarthy has been the go-to guy with the ball for KKR skipper Nitish Rana, and once again, KKR will rely on him. Having defended nine runs in the last over against SRH, picked up 3/26, Chakravarthy has been exceptional with the ball. But senior pro-Sunil Narine has looked a pale shadow of his past with just one wicket in his last eight matches. Hence, it remains to be seen how long KKR's think-tank pursues Narine. But Rinku Singh and Andre Russell's heroics were the standout moments from the last game. Russell and Singh added 54 off 26 balls against PBKS to edge close to the finish line, and the latter completed the job in style. Shadow batting. Bright future. 👌 pic.twitter.com/RXvVjMblxp — Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 10, 2023 A day before the crunch game, Rinku Singh attributed his form to his stint at the KKR academy in Mumbai. "My hard work at the academy is paying off. We had an off-season camp there, and I've worked hard and improved a lot," he said at the pre-match press conference on Wednesday. Simple and steady does it for Rinku Rinku, who made his IPL debut in 2018, has a simple mantra of success: keep a calm head like MS Dhoni. "I just play normal shots, and practice harder for death overs as per my batting position at KKR Academy," said Rinku. "I just try to keep it simple and play normal shots. I think if I try something extra, it will affect my batting." Rinku also met India legend Mahendra Singh Dhoni when CSK visited Kolkata and the southpaw asked Dhoni how he could improvise. "He just told me don't think much, just wait for the ball," revealed Rinku. "For the spot I'm batting in, you have to be calm-headed, it's about going with a clear mind and backing yourself," he further added. Recalling his heroics against Punjab, where he hit a four off the last ball to win the game, the 25-year-old said, "You have to stay calm. People were screaming 'Rinku, Rinku', but I focused only on the last ball." One eye on the weather The Eden Gardens pitch has historically been known for its high-scoring nature, with a good balance between bat and ball. Spinners are likely to play a crucial role, given the pitch's tendency to offer assistance as the game progresses. However, players of both teams will have one eye on the weather amidst predictions of cloudy weather. Cyclone Mocha has put West Bengal on high alert. The storm is expected to form a depression over the region of southeast Bay of Bengal and there are chances that it may develop into a cyclonic storm. This has caused concerns for the upcoming match between Kolkata and Punjab. But as per the latest local forecast for Kolkata by the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), the city will experience "hot and uncomfortable weather" in the next 24 hours. Key Matchup: KKR have used Varun Chakravarthy in the PowerPlay, and if he comes up against the RR's fearsome opening pair of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, then it will be interesting to watch as to who comes out on top. Head-to-Head Record: Kolkata have an advantage in this fixture. These two teams have faced each other 27 times in the IPL, and KKR lead 14-12 against RR. If we take a look at the last six meets, then once again, the scales are titled in favour of KKR at 4-2. SQUADS: Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana (c), Jason Roy, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N. Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Mandeep Singh and Aarya Desai. Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Joe Root, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa, Jason Holder, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Adam Zampa, KM Asif, Murugan Ashwin, Akash Vashisht and Abdul P A.
