Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders: IPL 2022 match preview

The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixture in the 2022 Indian Premier League season

What's the match?

Rajasthan Royals take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League.

When is it taking place?

The game will begin on Monday, April 18, 2022. The first ball will be bowled at 7.30pm local time (3pm GMT).

Where is the match being played?

It will be held at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai.

Who's got the form?

Rajasthan Royals currently lie fourth in the IPL, with three wins and two defeats.

Sanju Samson's side enjoyed a bright start to the tournament, winning back-to-back matches and posting knocks of 190-plus on both occasions. However, they have only won once in their past three matches, failing to defend 169 against RCB before suffering a 37-run defeat against Gujarat Titans.

Fortunately for Rajasthan, Jos Buttler's form shows no signs of letting up, with the England opener failing to pass 30 just once in five innings and blasting 272 runs at a strike rate of 152.80. Equally, Shimron Hetmyer has impressed, scoring 197 runs at 177.47, while Yuzvendra Chahal has been the standout bowler, taking 12 wickets and conceding just 6.8 runs per over.

Kolkata Knight Riders, meanwhile, began the tournament with three wins from four matches but head into this clash off the back of consecutive defeats against Delhi Capitals and Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Their miserly performances with the ball, which saw them restrict CSK and Punjab Kings to 131 for 5 and 137, respectively, have disappeared of late, while they are also yet to win while batting first.

No one stands out with the bat for KKR, with a handful of players scoring half-centuries but none more than once, but Umesh Yadav has been a revelation with the ball, taking 10 wickets and conceding 6.79 runs per over.

^{Jos Buttler [screengrab/BCCI]}

What's the key match-up?

First of all, Rajasthan Royals will hope to win the toss and put KKR in to bat. The Knight Riders have won three out of four when chasing but are zero from two when batting first.

However, perhaps the deciding factor in the whole match will be the performance of Jos Buttler. As mentioned, Rajasthan's opener - the current orange cap - has scored 272 runs at a striek rate of 152.80, including a century and two half-centuries in his past four innings.

Only Hetmyer (179 runs) comes close to matching his run haul among his teammates while Buttler was far and away the best player during his side's defeat to Gujarat Titans, scoring 54 runs (24 balls) while the remainder of the top five scored just 25.

If KKR can dismiss him early doors, it would be a huge boost to their chances of victory.

Head-to-head record

Matches played: 24

Rajasthan Royals wins: 11

Kolkata Knight Riders wins: 13

What's the weather forecast?

Another warm evening in Mumbai, with temperatures hovering around 28 degrees Celsius.

What are the squads?

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, Jimmy Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell

Kolkata Knight Riders: Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, Pat Cummins, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Mavi, Sheldon Jackson, Ajinkya Rahane, Rinku Singh, Anukul Roy, Rasikh Dar, Baba Indrajith, Chamika Karunaratne, Abhijeet Tomar, Pratham Singh, Ashok Sharma, Sam Billings, Aaron Finch, Tim Southee, Ramesh Kumar, Mohammad Nabi, Umesh Yadav

What are the possible starting XIs?

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanjua Samson, Rassie van der Dussen, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Jimmy Neesham, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen

Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Sheldon Jackson, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Amen Hakim Khan, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravathy

^{Umesh Yadav [screengrab/BCCI]}

What are the odds?

Rajasthan Royals are the favourites to take this match, with odds of 10/11. KKR are available at 1/1.

What's the prediction?

Provided Jos Buttler plays his part, Rajasthan Royals should be confident of victory against a KKR side on a two-match losing streak.

Where can I watch the game?

In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.

Fans in India can watch all of the action on Star Sports.

Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.

Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.

Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.

The IPL can also be streamed on Disney+ and Hotstar in certain areas.