Rajasthan Royals vs. Kolkata Knight Riders: Match Preview – IPL 4
With three years of contrasting Indian Premier League history, the Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to face each other on Friday, 15 April, 2011 at Jaipur.
While KKR entered the IPL opening edition as the favourites, the Royals were one of the weakest teams in the competition. However, as the tournament progressed, the cricket lovers witnessed a dramatic change, as KKR did not qualify for the knock-out stage
and the Royals surprisingly won the title.
For the next two years, the Royals have been trying hard to repeat the performance that they showed in the 2008 edition of the IPL. On the other hand, KKR has failed to make an impact in all three editions of the T20 league.
The Royals have started their fourth season campaign on a winning note, stealing two consecutive victories to go on top of the tables. Led by Gautam Gambhir, the KKR has gained some winning momentum by beating the Deccan Chargers in their second game, after
they faced a narrow defeat at the hands of the Chennai Super Kings in the tournament opener.
In six head-to-head contests between the two sides, the Royals lead by 4-2. Shane Warne’s XI has not tasted a defeat in the last three matches against the KKR.
The Royals’ batting line-up looked solid in the previous matches, but seemed to lack the firepower until the stunning Kiwi batsman Ross http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rahul-c83321 Dravid and Johan Botha played with steady hands, the rest of the batsmen try
to hit big shots. The Royals kept the same strategy in the previous two games.
The return of Shane Watson in the team has definitely added to the Royals’ strength. However, the problem facing Warne is who to drop in order to include the aggressive Australian opening batsman. Watson is stepping into the IPL after showing some brutal
innings against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747.
With his ability to pick up wickets, Shaun Tait has been exceptional in the tournament. Meanwhile, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Johan-Botha-c67173 has been performing his role in the team outstandingly. There are some very talented young Indians as well in the Rajasthan line-up, who provide
a lot of options to Warne in both bowling and batting departments.
On the other hand, the KKR team, under the leadership of their new skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gautam-Gambhir-c58623, is considered as the strongest contenders for the title this season. On paper, KKR has one of most powerful batting line-ups in the league, as Jacques Kallis is in
outstanding form, having scored two consecutive half-centuries in the tournament. The Captain Gambhir is also looking to continue with his excellent ICC World Cup 2011 form, but is yet to make a big impact. Yusuf Pathan’s form in the lower-order has been emerging
as a serious concern for KKR side, as a player of his class can destroy the opposition at any given time.
With the return of Brett Lee, KKR’s bowling strength has been pumped up. The Dutch Ryan Doeschate is likely to be dropped in order to put http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Lee-c72382 in the playing XI.
With their ability to demolish any bowling attack, Pathan and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 will be the two players to watch out for.
Stats and Trivia:
Shane Warne has been the most successful bowler for Rajasthan, having picked up 25 wickets in the last two IPL editions.
With four wickets apiece, Trivedi and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Amit-Singh-c44048 are leading the chart of the highest-wicket takers in the ongoing competition.
Kallis is the second highest run-scorer so far in the tournament with his 107 runs in two games, followed by Botha, who is just one-run behind.
Prediction:
The match will be a close affair, as the two teams have some quality players in the line-up. The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 franchise has a near flawless track record at their home ground of Sawai Mansingh stadium in Jaipur and with their fan support it will be an extremely
hard task for the Kolkata http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Knight-c71599 Riders.
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