In what will be the second game of its kind this season, the Kolkata Knight Riders will play the Rajasthan Royals in the 17th match of the tournament. The game will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Kolkata v Rajasthan odds:
The last time the two sides had met, this Friday, Kolkata were 8/11 to win the game. It is, therefore no surprise, that the odds have improved for the Knight Riders to 4/6 (
Stan James) after their win over the Royals in that match.
Rajasthan will look to their new recruits to change things around against the Knight Riders but they are second-favourites to win this game, 5/4 (
SkyBet). The one point of interest will be the number of fans that turn up for the game at the Eden Gardens, given the cold response that the audience had accorded to the previous Kolkata game here.
Ground and Pitch:
The pitch will have varying bounce and could make life a bit more difficult for the batsmen once the shine goes off.
Player News:
Rajasthan captain Shane Warne will not make the same mistake twice. Shane Watson (7/2 at
Coral) will be sent up the order and one gets the sense that the number one all-rounder in the world, will open his innings with Rahul Dravid (4/1 at
SkyBet). Amit Paunikar (5/1 at
SkyBet) will probably need to bat lower down, as the likes of Ross Taylor (9/2 at
PaddyPower) could get another chance to bat in the second part of the innings and blow the opposition apart.
It makes more sense too; having one of their two aggressors at the top of the innings in Watson, and the other, Taylor in the last ten overs – instead of clubbing both together in the middle.
Kolkata’s win last game was centred around two of the mot excellent innings together in a chase. Gautam Gambhir (7/2 at
SkyBet) and Jacques Kallis (9/4 at
Coral) played fire and ice in the innings, eventually ending on 70 plus scores and remaining unbeaten in the innings.
Even if one of the two get out early, there are three, quite varied batsmen in their middle-order; Eoin Morgan (8/1 at
Paddy Power), who is unorthodox in his own ways, Yusuf Pathan (8/1 at
Stan James), a ball-basher and Shakib al Hasan (12/1 at
Stan James), who can adapt to the situation well.
The question, therefore, is whether the Royals can get through this strong Knight Riders’ bastion.
Prediction:
Kolkata, at home, is a formidable opponent, but with the crowds having remained away, it could just work in the favour of Shane Warne.
