RR vs KKR IPL Match Prediction: Who will win today's Rajasthan vs Kolkata IPL 2022 match?
The Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) last few games in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) have seen their former players come back to haunt them. Kuldeep Yadav and Dinesh Karthik, both arguably marginalized at KKR, have made tremendous contributions to vanquish their erstwhile franchise and push them down the IPL 2022 points table.
According to the IPL schedule, Prasidh Krishna will have the chance to make his own statement when the Rajasthan Royals (RR) take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, April 18. The Knight Riders badly need to find some winning momentum against a fellow mid-table team after suffering successive losses to drop to the bottom half of the standings.
Meanwhile, RR too have faded away after a bright start, and the niggle Trent Boult suffered ahead of the previous game messed with their plans. Without their premier powerplay enforcer, the Royals were forced to beef up their batting by including Jimmy Neesham but the move didn't pay off as Hardik Pandya dominated the contest from start to finish. RR will hope that Boult is fit and ready to re-enter the playing XI.
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IPL 2022 Match Prediction: RR vs KKR
The opening powerplay will be something that weighs heavily on KKR's mind as well. Venkatesh Iyer has looked woefully out of form, while his partners - Ajinkya Rahane and Aaron Finch - haven't relieved any pressure. Bringing Sam Billings back into the fold and making him open the batting might be the Knight Riders' best course of action.
Pat Cummins has been plundered by every opposition he has played so far in IPL 2022, and calls for Tim Southee to replace the Aussie are growing in intensity. While that would weaken an already inconsistent batting lineup even further, KKR's death bowling desperately needs improvement and their new-ball penetration has also dwindled recently.
To make matters worse for KKR, Varun Chakravarthy is in a dismal run of form, with his line and length being all over the place this year. RR are known to attack spinners in the middle overs, so how the mystery spinner adjusts to his newest challenge will be something to watch out for.
RR's spinners, on the other hand, have been among the best in the competition. Yuzvendra Chahal had a rare off-day in the previous game, so he will be raring to take on the KKR batters, who aren't ones to back down even if results aren't going their way. Death bowling is a concern for RR as well, with Prasidh Krishna being among the most expensive bowlers in that phase in IPL 2022.
However, RR's added batting might, combined with the possibility of Boult's return, make them the favorites for this encounter. Two of KKR's three wins this season have largely been one-man shows - an Andre Russell blitz and a Pat Cummins special with the bat - while the third was against the struggling Chennai Super Kings on the opening day.
So unless someone in the KKR camp can come up with a single-handed match-winning performance, Sanju Samson should be the happier captain at the end of the contest.
Prediction: RR to win Match 30 of IPL 2022