IPL 2021: Match 54 - KKR vs RR: Preview, probable XIs, match prediction, live streaming, weather forecast, and pitch report
The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) go up against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 54th match of IPL 2021 on Thursday, 7th October, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. It will be the second match of a doubleheader on the penultimate day of group stage matches, with Chennai Super Kings taking on Punjab Kings in the first.
It's a shootout for the fourth playoff spot, with KKR the frontrunners to get there. While RR have a mathematical chance to make the playoffs, their loss to Mumbai Indians in the previous game has severely hurt their chances. KKR, meanwhile, beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in a low-scoring encounter in their last outing.
Eoin Morgan's side has turned it around in the second half of the season, despite the skipper not being in good form himself. Their aggressive batting approach and clever bowling changes have helped them register some convincing victories, boosting their NRR.
Venkatesh Iyer has been the main positive for them with his fearless stroke-making, and he'll look to get them off to a good start once more. The KKR spinners have been sensational in the UAE leg, with Shakib joining the duo of Narine and Chakravarthy against SRH. They'll look to spin a web around the RR batters in this must-win game.
RR, meanwhile, allowed an excellent opportunity to make the playoffs slip away by losing to the Mumbai Indians. While the Royals' biggest plus has been the performance of some of their young Indian stars, their overseas contingent barring Mustafizur, and to an extent, Evin Lewis, aren't delivering.
They were demolished by the defending champions at Sharjah and could only get to 90/9 in their 20 overs. Ishan Kishan's blitzkrieg meant that MI chased the total down in 8.4 overs. While the pitch did play better in the second innings, such a total in a crunch game exposes the batting frailties of the RR team.
However, they have shown tremendous character and grit throughout this tournament and will look to bounce back with a win in this game of enormous consequence.
The last time these sides met, RR registered a comfortable six-wicket victory. KKR will hope to ensure qualification with a win and not depend on other results.
IPL 2021: KKR vs RR Match Details
Date: October 7, 2021 (Thursday).
Time: 7:30 PM IST.
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah.
Weather Forecast
It should be a warm evening with clear skies in Sharjah. An average temperature of around 34 degrees Celsius is expected.
Pitch Report
The wickets at Sharjah have been slow and two-paced, and that trend should continue in this match. While it shouldn't be as bad as RR made it out to be in their previous outing, this should be another low-scoring encounter.
Predicted XIs
Kolkata Knight Riders
There have been calls for Eoin Morgan to drop himself but head coach Brendon McCullum has backed the KKR skipper to come good. After a convincing performance against SRH, KKR should stick with the same XI for this crunch game.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (C), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy, and Shivam Mavi.
Rajasthan Royals
Considering that it was a complete team failure that cost them the match against MI, RR could opt to back their players and go in with an unchanged side for this match.
Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Evin Lewis, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Shivam Dube, Glenn Philips, David Miller, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Kuldip Yadav, Mustafizur Rahman, and Chetan Sakariya.
IPL 2021: KKR vs RR Match Prediction
While both sides still have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs, KKR should likely go through if they win. They've turned their season around brilliantly and shouldn't falter at the last hurdle. RR will likely give them a tough fight, but the Knight Riders have too much on the line to not deliver their best and should pip Sanju Samson's side.
Prediction: KKR to win.
IPL 2021: KKR vs RR - TV and Live Streaming Details
TV: Star Sports Network.
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP.