The Drama of the Indian Premier League continues as Kolkata Knight Riders will face Rajasthan Royals in what will an eliminator for both sides in this IPL. Both sides will be playing their last match of the season, the winner obviously has an upper hand over the other in qualification whereas the other side will back home on the next flight to their countries.
It is expected that Kolkata Knight Riders will definitely make a few changes to the playing XI as that has been the case with them, every match they have been having at least one change which is why be surprised if KKR actually goes in with an unchanged playing XI. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals will look to win on the momentum of their previous two matches as they have registered victories over Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab.
With the match expected to a star-studded affair lets take a look at the five key players to watch out for from both sides.
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Let’s take a look at the five key players to watch out for when Kolkata Knight Riders lock horns with Rajasthan Royals:
Nitish Rana
The Delhi batsman was having a disappointing run this season as he failed to score a single fifty in 10 matches for Kolkata Knight Riders. Despite repetitive failures, the Kolkata Knight Riders team management backed him and sent him to open against DC, where he in a 100 run partnership with Sunil Narine scored a vital knock of 81 runs off 53 balls to take Kolkata Knight Riders to a respectable total of 194.
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After completion of his fifty, Nitish Rana dedicating his fifty was seen rolling out a jersey by the name of his father in law ‘Surinder Singh’ who passed away the previous night.
Ben Stokes
Ben Stokes who is regarded as the best all-rounder cricket as of now made his return after being with his family in New Zealand for a brief period. But ever since his return the all-rounder wasn’t able to put up a great show, he was asked to open instead of batting down the order which was a decision questioned by many.
But then came the match against Mumbai Indians where Ben Stokes notched up a ton opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals. Which is why we shall watch out for Ben Stokes in the upcoming games.
Shubman Gill
The young gun Shubman Gill has been firing all shots this season with his bat as he’s the highest run-scorer for the Kolkata Knight Riders side this season. After trusting him to open alongside Sunil Narine this season, Shubman Gill has proved his mantle with what he’s capable of.
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He started off in sublime style but off late his performance hasnt been up to the mark in recent times. Shubman Gill has had as many as 4 batting partners in this tournament which also shows Kolkata Knight Riders’ inconsistency with their playing XI this season.
Robin Uthappa
The experienced campaigner who played over 6 seasons for the Kolkata Knight Riders wasn’t having a good time batting out of position for Rajasthan Royals. He was asked to bat in the middle order instead of opening the innings as that is his usual batting position.
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But in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Robin Uthappa was asked to open the innings along with Ben Stokes and he did bank on the opportunity given to him as he scored a quickfire 41. With Robin Uthappa at his usual position, we expect him to be a match-winner for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming matches.
Lockie Ferguson
The moustache man from New Zealand has looked in magnificent form in this IPL 2020. Though Eoin Morgan hasnt effectively used the speedster from New Zealand he has managed to put up strong performances in the matches he has played.
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In the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad which went in the super over, Lockie Ferguson picked up as many as 5 wickets in the match which was quite impressive for someone playing his first game of the season.