IPL Fantasy, Eliminator, KKR vs RR: Best XI to pick for today's match
The Rajasthan Royals and the Kolkata Knight Riders will square off against each other in the eliminator of IPL 2018 at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday (May 23).
It is a do-or-die contest for both the teams involved, as the loser today is automatically knocked out of the tournament, whereas the winner goes on to play the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the second qualifier of the season.
Both RR and KKR have new skippers in Ajinkya Rahane and Dinesh Karthik in the season. The duo have done rather well in their first stint as IPL captains, taking their sides to the top four ahead of some extremely strong squads. Karthik, in particular, has been excellent with his tactics and will be confident going into today's encounter against the Men in Blue.
KKR have beaten RR on both the occasions in the league stage and will also have the home advantage with him. RR, however, are coming off the back of an inspired victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore and will certainly look to push on from there. Both the teams are heavily reliant on their all-rounders to take them through the game and thus, performances from players like Sunil Narine, Jofra Archer, Andre Russell, and Krishnappa Gowtham will ultimately decide the result on the day.
Enlisted below is a suggestion for the fantasy playing XI you should pick for today's game (five core players who must be present in the team are tagged as "CP")
Best XI to pick for KKR vs RR today:
1. Rahul Tripathi
2. Sunil Narine (CP)
3. Sanju Samson
4. Robin Uthappa
5. Dinesh Karthik
6. Shubman Gill
7. Andre Russell (CP)
8. Jofra Archer (CP)
9. Krishnappa Gowtham (CP)
10. Kuldeep Yadav
11. Ish Sodhi (CP)
Alternate Options
You can choose a different set of players in your playing XI in the place of those that have not been marked under the Core Player (CP) in the aforementioned team. Here are the possible replacements for these players:
1. Ajinkya Rahane
2. Shreyas Gopal
3. Nitish Rana
4. Piyush Chawla
5. Prasidh Krishna
Captain Options
Sunil Narine - The West Indian has been an incredible player for the Kolkata Knight Riders yet again this year, contributing not only with the ball but also with the bat. He has been a revelation as the opening batsman of Karthik's team and has cemented his place at the top of the KKR batting order. Narine has been reliable bowling with his as well, bringing immense value to the side with his all-round contribution.
Jofra Archer - This all-rounder is the X-factor of the Rajasthan Royals' side and brings a lot to the table with his cricketing abilities. Despite playing fewer games than the rest of the bowling attack, he is RR's leading wicket-taker of the tournament, claiming 13 scalps till now. He hasn't fired as much with the bat yet, but today might just be his day in terms of the same.