IPL 2024 : Rajasthan Royals(RR) Search For Winning Mantra To Hold On To Second Spot Against The Mighty Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

A week or two ago that question would have held more credence because of how KKR and RR had made the top two spots their own, that too with RR holding the top spot for a while. And then came Sunrisers Hyderabad to cast the shadows of doubt over RR’s campaign.

RR’s four-match winning streak With a slender one-run final-ball win, was  put on  the brakes by SRH and also sparked off their four-match losing streak which RR haven’t managed to halt yet. And now they run into table-toppers KKR, who have won four on the trot themselves barring the washout against Gujarat Titans, in search of the elusive win that will confirm their second spot no matter what happens between RCB vs CSK on Saturday and SRH vs PBKS in the afternoon game on Sunday.

RR vs KKR Previous Performances

RR continue their ongoing IPL 2024 campaign by taking on KKR. Both sides will face off at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, in the 70th game of the tournament on Sunday, May 19. Despite getting off to a flying start to the IPL 2024, Royals seem to have lost their form. Having lost their last four matches, the Sanju Samson-led side will aim to get back to winning ways.

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders, who sit atop the standings in the tournament, have been in exceptional form. With four consecutive wins and their previous game abandoned, KKR will aim to register yet another win and stay atop the standings.

RR vs KKR Head to Head

 RR 14 -14 KKR. What will boost RR’s confidence is that they had snatched victory from KKR with a turnaround win in their previous fixture a month ago, which had stunned the Kolkata crowd. What will not boost RR’s confidence is that that victory was scripted single-handedly by Jos Buttler, who has left for the UK to prep for the T20 World Cup.

Matches Played	29
Rajasthan Royals Won	14
Kolkata Knight Riders Won	14
No results	01

RR vs KKR Pitch Report

Another pitch enabling low scores? Quite contrary to the expectations and local trends, the black-soil pitch in the last match here was low and skiddy, with batters finding it difficult to get under the ball. The weather in Guwahati has been wet leading up to this match and although a fresh pitch is in the offing, it could play very similar. The prediction on match day is for scattered thunderstorms but like with all forecasts, it’s subject to change.

The Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati saw its first game of this IPL earlier this week when RR lost to PBKS after stumbling to 145 for 9. It had hosted three matches last IPL, and the average first-innings score since then is just 180. The temperature will range from 24 degrees to 31 degrees Celsius with lots of humidity and some rain and scattered thunderstorms expected in the evening.

The surface at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati is generally a batter-friendly pitch, and with high-scoring encounters, the teams will aim to put a big total on the scoreboard. Opting to bat first and posting a big total on the board could be a wise decision.

RR vs KKR Big Picture A dress rehearsal of the IPL final

A week or two ago that question would have held more credence because of how KKR and RR had made the top two spots their own, that too with RR holding the top spot for a while.

And then came Sunrisers Hyderabad to cast the shadows of doubt over RR’s campaign. With a slender one-run final-ball win, SRH put the brakes on RR’s four-match winning streak and also sparked off their four-match losing streak which RR haven’t managed to halt yet. And now they run into table-toppers KKR, who have won four on the trot themselves barring the washout against Gujarat Titans, in search of the elusive win that will confirm their second spot no matter what happens between RCB vs CSK on Saturday and SRH vs PBKS in the afternoon game on Sunday.

RR had the winning mantra firmly in their hands for the first eight games out of nine, a pattern not new for them anymore. Last year they won five of their first eight before losing four of their remaining six to lose out on a playoff spot, and the year before that they had won six of their first eight and lost half of their remaining six to lose the top spot.

A win in their final league match against KKR will break that pattern, the losing streak and do wonders for their own confidence if they want to play the first qualifier instead of the eliminator.

KKR are riding high after their string of wins; so high that winning the title from here shouldn’t surprise anyone, and that success may play a role in them potentially losing their mentor Gautam Gambhir to the Indian cricket team. It’s been a week since KKR sealed their ticket for the first qualifier, ample time to think about their replacement at the top for Phil Salt and come up with a plan for Sunil Narine’s off day, with bat or ball.

Four defeats in a row. That’s where Rajasthan Royals, who have qualified into the Playoffs, stand at the moment. A win over Kolkata Knight Riders will still seal a top-two spot for them, if they aren’t there already by match start courtesy other results, but it must not really be a comfortable place to be in. To lose steam so close to the business end of the tournament and be without a player like Jos Buttler, who’s returned home for international duties but who ironically was instrumental in a thrilling victory over KKR earlier this season, must be unsettling.

RR’s last match against Punjab Kings saw Tom Kohler-Cadmore debut and it was proof enough that Buttler is a big void to fill at the top of the order and it’ll not be straightforward for someone else to slot in right away and perform. But Shane Bond, RR’s bowling coach, maintained after the defeat that RR remained “hard to beat” and were “one better game” away from finding their mojo back.

Winning against a team that has secured its league-topper status long back will not be easy for RR but it could just be the challenge that can fire them up and set them up nicely for a potential encore in Qualifier 1 after a day’s gap in Ahmedabad.

For KKR, it’s all been hunky-dory lately. The only match they haven’t been able to win this month is the one that was abandoned due to rain and their middle-order and spin attack seem to hit the top gear at just the right time. Now it will be all about addressing the wounds of that run-chase by RR at the Eden Gardens, a period in their campaign that saw them at their wobbliest. But having done well to recover from that and given the form they are in at the moment, the Shreyas Iyer-led side could prove to be difficult to stop at the moment.

RR vs KKR Team news and impact player strategy

Rajasthan Royals
Tom Kohler-Cadmore will take Buttler’s place at the top, like he did in their last game against Punjab Kings, in which they had subbed out Dhruv Jurel for Donovan Ferreira after they had slipped to 102 for 6. That may not be the case again on Sunday because Hetmyer had missed out that day but he is fit for Sunday and RR will be forced to change their combination. If it turns out to be a run-fest, RR may also want to think about bringing in a sixth bowling option against the power-packed KKR line-up.

Kolkata Knight Riders
Salt is likely to be replaced by Rahmanullah Gurbaz as the opener, as was being expected for the washout match against GT. Their impact bowler coming in for a batter like Venkatesh Iyer could be Vaibhav Arora or Suyash Sharma, depending on whether the pitch favors more pace or turn.

RR vs KKR In the spotlight – Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Rahmanullah Gurbaz

All eyes will be on the two replacement openers.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore already made his IPL debut against PBKS, albeit on a track he wouldn’t have wanted to stay far away from to end up with a 23-ball 18. He is a destructive hitter, particularly down the ground and RR won’t mind some of those, especially when the runs have dried up a little from Yashaswi Jaiswal. Kohler-Cadmore has made a name for himself in the Lanka Premier League, the PSL, the BBL, the Abu Dhabi T10, and the Hundred, obviously, and some fine contributions in crunch games for RR will add a lot more weight to that list.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the hard-hitting Afghanistan opener will also likely get a game before the crucial playoffs. Just 22, he has the firepower KKR need at the top to complement Sunil Narine. His recent T20 form doesn’t inspire much confidence – 105 runs in his last six innings – and neither does his IPL record from last season – 227 runs from 11 innings while averaging 20.63 and striking at just 133.52.

Gurbaz may have a sterner test waiting for him, compared to Kohler-Cadmore, with the challenge of excelling against Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin and others.

RR vs KKR Vital Stats that matter