The 12th game of the Indian Premier League will be played between the Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur. This will be the third game for both the sides.
Rajasthan v Kolkata odds:
By the time the IPL had ended last year, the Kolkata Knight Riders (8/11 at
Stan James) were down in the dumps with no semi-final appearance. This year, the revamped side should give them a better opportunity, and an improved performance was on display in both their games. Kolkata went down narrowly to the captaincy of MS Dhoni but went on to beat the Deccan Chargers in the second one.
This is not to say that they are a better side than the Rajasthan Royals (6/5 at
Blue Square), who despite all the talks around the kind of team that they chose, have won two matches in a row. Both the wins were straightforward and most importantly, a result of teamwork. Not too many standout performances apart from the captaincy of Shane Warne and yet, as a team, they have been excellent.
Ground and Pitch:
The first game that was played here saw Delhi lose some quick wickets upfront but that is not to say that there is much in the pitch for the seam bowlers. It was the pace of Shaun Tait that rattled the batsmen but apart from that, the track should be batting friendly.
Player News:
Both sides will be reinforced by the presence of their Australia stars who were earlier involved in a series in Bangladesh. Kolkata will welcome Brett Lee into the side, as he will look to replace one of the Indian pace bowlers in the flailing Kolkata Knight Riders bowling. Brad Haddin (7/2 at
bet365) also returns but for now, he may not get a chance as Manvinder Bisla (9/2 at
Blue Square) has done a decent job with the bat and behind the stumps.
Where the Knight Riders may look to change things around is the swap between Shakib al Hasan (13/2 at
bet365) and Ryan ten Doeschate (10/1 at
Stan James). Shakib’s spin bowling and batting at the number five position could be handier than ten Doeschate’s medium-pace.
If Kolkata would be strengthened by Lee, Rajasthan Royals will be absolutely bolstered by the presence of Shane Watson (3/1 at
bet365). Watson was named the man of the series in the Bangladesh ODIs where he pulverised the opponents into submission.
Where a bit of thinking could be involved is the foreign player that needs to be dropped to accommodate Watson. Shaun Tait could be the one to miss out and with Watson coming into the side, he may open with Amit Paunikar (5/1 at
Blue Square) while Rahul Dravid (7/2 at
Blue Square) will be pushed to a more familiar middle-order position.
Prediction:
After two games where Johan Botha has been taken for runs off his bowling, it could be a good time to push the economy rate as low as possible. 9/2 at
Stan James for Botha to be most economical. Also 7/1 (
Stan James) for Eoin Morgan to top-score for the Knight Riders
