IPL 2023: RR hope to end losing streak with focus on KKR's spinners, Rinku Singh

Rajasthan Royals had started the IPL 2023 season strongly. Four wins in five matches and they were the team to beat. An emphatic 72 run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad to get things underway. Then 57 run triumph over Delhi Capitals. Followed by close shave against four-time winners Chennai Super Kings, in Chepauk no less, and defending champions Gujarat Titans for a dream start.

IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap​

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler were in cracking touch and bossing the opposition bowling from the word go. In the middle, Shimron Hetmyer was proving to be a class act as a finisher. Trent Boult was unleashing mayhem with the ball – just ask DC.

But it has all gone downhill since. With five defeats in their last six matches, RR are staring at going out of IPL playoff reckoning unless their fix their act – and fast. Their most recent outing encapsulates their collapse perfectly. In the penultimate over, Kuldip Yadav was thrashed for three consecutive sixes. And in the final over, Sandeep Sharma had done just about enough before erring with a no ball on the last ball to give SRH a lifeline. That mistake allowed Abdul Samad to emerge as the last-ball hero with SRH picking an unlikely win.

Jaiswal and Buttler are still working great, scoring 35 and 95 respectively in 54-run stand against SRH, it is the other departments that have stopped clicking. Hetmyer’s runs have dried up with his last double digit scoring coming almost four weeks ago. Since then, he’s scored 2, 3, 8, 8, 7, 7* for a combined 35 runs from six innings.

Boult, meanwhile, has missed a couple of games with a niggle. He missed the fixture against SRH as well and has taken three wickets in the last three matches.

Their opponents tonight, Kolkata Knight Riders, have the same record this season: Played 11, won five, lost six. But they’re on the upward trend. They’ve won three of the last five matches and two in a row.

At one stage, they looked more to be a team that would make a difference over who makes the playoffs than making it on their own. That reflection has changed courtesy Varun Chakravarthy, Andre Russell and the heroics of Rinku Singh. A win against Royals and they will enter the top four.

For KKR the cause for concern is Sunil Narine. Once a consistent star for KKR, with bat and ball, the West Indian has struggled and taken just seven wickets in 11 matches. This when he had taken six wickets in the first three games. His economy rate of 8.60 is the worst for him in an IPL season. Darren Ganga has suggested Narine might be better off looking for a newer franchise to get the mojo back. Until that happens, no time like the present to turn things around.

KKR vs RR head-to-head

Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals have met 27 times in the IPL with KKR winning 14 matches and RR clinching 12. One game, in 2015, ended in a no result.

KKR vs RR: Form (last five matches)

Kolkata Knight Riders: W W L W L

Rajasthan Royals: L L L W L

KKR vs RR Time and Date

KKR vs RR will be played on 11 May (Thursday) at 7:30 PM IST. The match will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

KKR vs RR TV coverage, live streaming

KKR vs RR in IPL 2023 will be available on Star Sports Network for TV broadcast. The match will be live streamed on JioCinema app and website if you’re looking to live stream it.

KKR vs RR Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jason Roy, Anukul Roy, N Jagadeesan, Lockie Ferguson, Kulwant Khejroliya, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Johnson Charles, David Wiese, Aarya Desai

Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Joe Root, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murugan Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Kuldip Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Adam Zampa, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, Obed McCoy, Trent Boult, Navdeep Saini, Akash Vasisht, KC Cariappa, KM Asif, Kuldeep Sen, Donavon Ferreira, Abdul Basith, Kunal Singh Rathore

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