Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals: IPL 2022 match preview

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

What's the match?

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

When is it taking place?

The match will be played on Monday, May 2 with 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 Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Who's got the form?

Rajasthan Royals made an impressive start to the 2022 IPL, winning six of their opening eight matches, and currently sit second in the table.

However, in their most recent match they suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of Mumbai Indians, becoming the first side to lose to the five-time champions in 2022. Sanju Samson's side posted just 158 for 6 from their 20 overs, Jos Buttler once again top-scoring with 67, and just failed to shut out Mumbai, losing with four balls remaining.

KKR, by contrast, began the season with three wins from their opening four matches but are now on a five-match losing streak. Worryingly, Shreyas Iyer's side have failed to pass 150 with the bat in their past two matches and are yet to win a game when batting first, losing on three occasions. However, given Rajasthan have batted first in all but one of their matches, this shouldn't be a problem.

The reverse fixture was a high-scoring affair, with Rajasthan Royals posting 217 for 5 following a century from Buttler. Kolkata also passed 200, Iyer and Aaron Finch both scoring half-centuries, but lost by seven runs.

^{Jos Buttler}

What's the key match-up?

Jos Buttler is obviously the key player for Rajasthan Royals. The England opener has scored a tournament-leading 566 runs at a strike rate of 155.06, including three centuries and three half-centuries - his nearest teammate, Samson, has 244 runs.

Getting him out early doors will therefore be hugely advantageous for KKR, but given only Shivam Mavi and Sunil Narine recorded sub-10 economies in the most recent meeting between the two sides, there may be a few vulnerable bowlers in the mix.

Head-to-head record

Matches played: 25

Kolkata Knight Riders wins: 13

Rajasthan Royals wins: 12

What's the weather forecast?

Temperatures will again hover around the 30 degrees Celsius mark at the start of play.

What are the squads?

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

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

What are the possible starting XIs?

Kolkata Knight Riders: Aaron Finch, Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer, Baba Indrajith, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Pradeep Rana

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson, Daryl Mitchell, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen

^{Sunil Narine (Randy Brooks/Getty Images)}

What are the odds?

Rajasthan Royals are the favourites to win this match, with odds of 4/5. KKR are available at 11/10.

What's the prediction?

The Mumbai defeat was surely a bump in the road for Rajasthan Royals and against an out of form KKR, they should return to winning ways. Rajasthan Royals win.

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.