The departure of star England opener Jos Buttler for national duty has left a void in their batting line up, and players like Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Sanju Samson, and Riyan Parag will need to step up to fill the gap. A win in this match would be crucial for the Royals as it would give them two chances to reach the final.
On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders have already secured the top spot with 19 points in the IPL 2024 points table, thanks to a washout against Gujarat Titans in their last match. While KKR will be high on confidence, they will also need to be wary of complacency.
KKR’s last match was a win against Mumbai Indians on May 11, and they will be looking to carry that momentum into this game.
Head to head:
In their head-to-head encounters, the Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders have been evenly matched, with each team winning 14 out of their 29 matches.
Pitch report:
The pitch at the Barsapara Stadium has generally been good for batting. However, in the previous game, it appeared two-paced, suggesting a potential balance between bat and ball if the same pitch is used.
Ground history of IPL 2024:
In the only IPL 2024 match played at the Barsapara Stadium, the batting team second emerged victorious. The average first innings score is 144, while the average second innings score is 145. The highest total recorded is 144/9 by Rajasthan Royals against Punjab Kings, and the lowest total is 145/5 by Punjab Kings against Rajasthan Royals.
fantasy value:
Considering the recent pitch behavior, middle-order batsmen are likely to be good fantasy picks. As for bowlers, spinners and pace bowlers who can vary their pace effectively will have an edge.
Key Fantasy Picks:
Sanju Samson (RR): The RR skipper has been in exceptional form throughout IPL 2024, showing great temperament and delivering under pressure. He is a reliable choice for fantasy contests. Stats: 504 runs in 13 matches
Riyan Parag (RR): The Indian all-rounder has been a key player in RR’s batting line up, emerging as their highest run-scorer in IPL 2024. Parag with given his consistent performances is on fourth position in the IPL 2024 orange cap. Stats: 531 runs in 12 innings
Sunil Narine (KKR): The Trinidadian all-rounder has been in superb form, making significant contributions with both bat and ball. Narine is a safe fantasy pick given his current form and match-winning performances. Stats: 461 runs and 15 wickets in 12 matches
Squad:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shreyas Iyer (c), KS Bharat (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Rinku Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine , Vaibhav Arora, Chetan Sakariya, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Mitchell Starc, Dushmantha Chameera, Sakib Hussain, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson and Allah Ghazanfar.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Abid Mushtaq, Avesh Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Donovan Ferreira, Kuldeep Sen, Kunal Singh Rathore, Nandre Burger, Navdeep Saini, Ravichandran Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Rovman Powell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Trent Boult, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tanush Kotian
Dream11 fantasy:
Wicketkeeper: Sanju Samson
Batters: Shreyas Iyer, Rovman Powell, Yashasvi Jaiswal
All-rounders: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Riyan Parag
Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Varun Chakravarthy (Here’s a list of updated Purple cap list)
(Inputs from Agencies)
