RR v KKR Prediction: Who will win today's IPL 2020 match
Rajasthan Royals (RR), the last of the unbeaten teams at IPL 2020, take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 12 of the tournament. The Royals come into this game on the back of an impressive performance that saw them achieve the highest-ever run-chase in the history of the IPL.
The Kings XI Punjab set RR a target of 224 to win when they clashed on Sunday, after Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul put together yet another massive partnership right at the top of the order. In response, Steve Smith, Sanju Samson and Rahul Tewatia all got fifties as Rajasthan chased down the total with three balls to spare.
KKR, too, have managed to get some momentum on their side with a win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Saturday. A disciplined bowling performance from the Knight Riders saw SRH restricted to just 142 in their allotted 20 overs.
21-year-old Shubman Gill showed maturity beyond his years to anchor the side’s chase, as the Kolkata franchise romped home by seven wickets.
Fast forward to later today, and top-of-the-table Rajasthan Royals are all set to face off against seventh-placed Kolkata Knight Riders clash. And, if the recent matches at IPL 2020 are anything to go by, we are in for a thriller of a RR v KKR contest at Dubai International Stadium.
IPL 2020: RR v KKR Match Prediction
The Royals have played both their games at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, and now will have to adjust to slightly longer boundaries. While their games have seen some big innings so far, RR will have to grind it out in Dubai to come away with a win.
On the other hand, both of KKR’s matches were played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Although the conditions are different from Abu Dhabi, the effort needed by the KKR batsmen to clear the boundary won’t differ too much from their earlier fixtures.
The RR bowlers took quite a beating at the hands of Rahul and Mayank Agarwal in the previous fixture. However, a lot of it can be put down to the size of the boundaries, as mentioned earlier.
The Royals look much more balanced going into this game with the kind of players they have across the line-up. RR may want to play David Miller, though, only to add to their list of power-hitters as they go up against a team that would back themselves to chase any target with the kind of firepower they have.
The Knight Riders have a much-talked-about batting line-up, and with good reason too. Although they haven’t fired to the best of their abilities, any team would want the likes of Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik in their middle-order.
Add to this, a top-order that boasts of Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine and Nitish Rana, and one can see that KKR’s batting order almost demands envy.
To their credit, the Royals have an enviable top-order of their own. Featuring the likes of Jos Buttler, Steve Smith and Sanju Samson right at the start of the innings means that the team have a license to attack right from the word go. Add to that the fact that Archer and Tewatia have both shown they can clear the boundary at will earlier in the tournament, and we could be in for a treat.
In what could come down to a battle between two sets of powerful strikers of the cricket ball, one would have to back those at Kolkata Knight Riders to come out on top in what promises to be an absolute thriller of a contest.
Prediction: KKR to win today.