Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, head-to-head record, weather forecast and much, much more ahead of the 18th game of the new Indian Premier League season
Rajasthan Royals take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the 18th match of the 2021 IPL.
The game is scheduled for 7.30pm IST (3pm BST) on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium is hosting its penultimate game of the competition.
In short, no one.
Both sides have just a single win from their opening four games and have each lost their last two. Indeed, KRR's losing run actually stretches to three having not won since downing Sunrisers Hyderabad - who have also won one of their four games - in their opener.
KKR's performances are certainly on a downward trajectory and though they were only beaten by 18 runs in their last outing by Chennai Super Kings, the gap between the two sides was somewhat larger. If it hadn't been for Pat Cummins hitting 30 in the 16th over bowled by Sam Curran the margin of victory would be fairer.
Having conceded in excess of 200 twice there are certainly issues to address in the KKR bowling attack, while their middle-order has failed to sparkle sufficiently.
Royals will stumble through the group stage producing one-off performances of class while failing to discover consistency if their start to the competition is any indication.
Losing to Punjab Kings in their first game is a result that will look increasingly worse as the tournament progresses but the run-chase against Delhi Capitals shows what they're capable of.
Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer's absence leaves two large gaps in their XI and it requires the likes of Jos Buttler and Mustafizur Rahim to perform regularly to ensure their loss is not felt too hard.
Dafabet have the unenviable task of picking a favourite for this one and have plumped with KKR at 8/11. Royals can be backed at 11/10.
Sanju Samson, who already has a century in the 2021 season, is available at 3/1 to be Rajasthan's top run-scorer. Andre Russell is 4/1 to do the same for KKR.
As for which side will hit the most fours during their 20-over allocation, KKR are being tipped at 8/11 with RR at 11/8.
After a horrid run of scores and a largely inauspicious start as KKR captain, there is a degree of pressure on Eoin Morgan as a batter and leader.
Knight Riders have only won four games under his tutelage since he replaced Dinesh Karthik mid-way through the 2020 season in the United Arab Emirates. He also hasn't passed 29 in his last eight white-ball innings, not since he scored a half-century in KKR's final game of last term.
Mustzfizur perhaps didn't expect to be leading the Royals attack during the 2021 season but he has been thrust into the role due to Archer's absence. He has recovered well after being hit for 45 in the defeat to Kings, but he remains on the expensive side.
Lacking overseas options and needing to strengthen their batting, Royals could end up making few changes from the loss to Royal Challengers Bangalore. Andrew Tye is waiting in the wings but he may have a watching brief. Archer has been formally ruled out by England.
Shakib Al Hasan was left out last time out and could return to a KKR middle-order which still requires attention. Andre Russell looked back to his best with the bat against CSK but still comes in too late to make a tangible difference.
The two teams have played each other 23 times.
Kolkata Knight Riders wins: 13
Rajasthan Royals wins: 10
With zero chance of rain in Mumbai and temperatures expected to hover around the mid-30s, another full and uninterrupted game is expected.
No, this match will be played behind closed doors owing to the Covid-19 situation in India.
In a clash between two sides who will likely have a watching brief when the playoffs come around, it is tough to determine who will bring an A-game which has proved elusive so far during the competition. KKR are probably the more likely in the cold light of day.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahim, Chetan Sakariya, K.C. Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Pawan Negi, Tim Seifert, Shakib al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer
RR: Jos Buttler, Manan Vohra, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Shivam Dube, David Miller, Riyan Parag, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Jaydev Unadkat, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
KKR: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Shakib Al Hasan, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
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