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Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals Prediction

  • date May 23, 2018
  • Start Time 19:00 IST / 13:30 GMT
  • Stadium Name Eden Gardens - Kolkata, India
KKR KKR
RR RR

KKR vs RR Betting Tips

  • Kolkata Knight Riders won three matches in a row to finish third in the IPL 2018 table and book their place in the play-offs.
  • Kolkata Knight Riders have also won their two matches against Rajasthan Royals this season, including a comprehensive six-wicket win - with two overs to spare - when they last met at Eden Gardens.
  • Rajasthan Royals will be without free-scoring Jos Buttler and all-rounder Ben Stokes after both were called up to play for England in the test match against Pakistan.

KKR vs RR Win Probability

info The "Chance of Winning" Widget shows winning percentage depending upon live betting odds of teams participating in the match. The winning percentage is changed immediately when odds are updated.
KKR RR

Our Prediction

Kolkata Knight Riders are favorites to win

Top Bets for KKR vs RR Match

KKR Top Batsman

KKR Top Batsman - C Lynn

Odds

3.75
RR Top Batsman

RR Top Batsman - S Samson

Odds

4.00
1st Inning Score

1st Inning Score - Over 176.5

Odds

1.83
RR Top Bowler

RR Top Bowler - J Archer

Odds

3.25
KKR Total Match Sixes

KKR Total Match Sixes - Over 7.5

Odds

1.83
Fall of 1st Wicket

Fall of 1st Wicket - Over 22.5

Odds

2.10
S Narine Total Runs

S Narine Total Runs - Over 17.5

Odds

1.83
A Fifty Score in the Match

A Fifty Score in the Match YES

Odds

1.14

Who will win KKR vs RR, IPL 2018 Eliminator?

Kolkata Knight Riders are playing in the eliminator play-off for the third consecutive season as they prepare to face Rajasthan Royals to keep their IPL 2018 hopes alive. Scheduled to start on May 23, the live action begins at 19:00 local time.

KKR vs RR: Where to watch/Live streaming

TV channels: Star Sports, Sky Sports, Willow TV, SuperSport, Geo Super, Channel 9, Fox Sports, BeIN Sport

Live streaming: Hotstar, SuperSport, Yupp TV, Sky Go 

Toss Prediction

No team has won the toss at Eden Gardens this season and not opted to field first. Kolkata have won their last two tosses at the ground, and opted to field first both times - including the win against Rajasthan Royals last week.

Read on for match preview and betting tips, latest odds, prediction for Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals, Indian Premier League 2018 Eliminator.

Betonline USA

KKR Team News & Playing 11

KKR Team News

Javon Searles has replaced Tom Curran for the last three matches, and with Kolkata winning all three games they may opt to stick with the same XI. Piyush Chawla missed the win against Rajasthan when the two teams last met, but returned for the final game of the group stage.

Kolkata Knight Riders have been flexible with their batting order, but the top six remains fairly consistent - Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn will open the batting, with Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Khartik and Andre Russell taking up the next four slots in any order. 

Shivam Mavi played the last game against Rajasthan, but having been either expensive or wicketless in the majority of his games in this year's competition - he has conceded 84 across the two matches against the Royals combined - he is unlikely to be selected. 

KKR Key Players

The two men who starred with the bat when Kolkata beat Rajasthan in their last meeting at Eden Gardens are expected to be the batting stars again this time out. Chris Lynn hit 45 at the top of the order, and has 425 runs - including three half-centuries - in the competition so far this year. Dinesh Karthik is their top scorer, however - his unbeaten 41 in that match contributing to his 438 runs so far. He has finished unbeaten in four of his last six innings, failing just once with a run of scores as follows: 45*, 36*, five, 50, 41* and 26*. His half-century was actually his only one so far in this competition, but he averages 54.75 thanks to his quick-fire, unbeaten contributions at the end of innings.

Also impressing of late has been Sunil Narine, who smashed 75 from 36 balls as Kolkata posted 245/6 in their thrashing of Kings XI Punjab, while fellow West Indian Andre Russell has impressed with bat and ball too. He has 13 wickets - three less than Narine, and one less than Kuldeep Yadav who claimed 4/20 the last time these two teams met - and 264 runs. In the final game of the group stage, meanwhile, it was rookie Prasidh Krishna who impressed - he claimed 4/30 to take him to nine wickets in his last four matches. 

KKR Form in IPL 2018

Kolkata Knight Riders finished the league stage with five wins in seven matches to book their play-off place - their only defeats coming against a Mumbai Indians side who have traditionally had the better of them in this tournament. They had won just three of their first seven matches, despite starting the tournament with a four-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

That was followed by back-to-back defeats against Chennai Super Kings - when they failed to defend 202/6 in a five-wicket loss - and Sunrisers Hyderabad, after posting just 138/8 from their 20 overs. After blitzing 200 in a 71-run win against Delhi next up, however, they then chased 160/8 to beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets in their next game.

A Chris Gayle-inspired Kings XI Punjab on a rain-affected match at Eden Gardens to end their min-revival, and Delhi Daredevils gained revenge by posting 219/4 in a 55-run win, but Kolkat turned the corner after that game.

Chris Lynn helped them chased 176 to win against Royal Challengers Bangalore, before a stunning six-wicket win - with 14 balls to spare - against Chennai as they chased down 178. Back-to-back losses against Mumbai Indians continued Kolkata's hoodoo in that fixture, and included a 102-run crushing defeat at Eden Gardens, but the Knight Riders responded well.

A stunning 245/6, anchored by Sunil Narine's 36-ball 75, helped them beat Kings XI Punjab by 31 runs, before they chased 143 to win their most recent meeting with Rajasthan Royals - Kuldeep Yadav claiming four wickets in an impressive bowling display. They then confirmed their play-off place by chasing 173 to win with two balls to spare against Sunrisers Hyderabad - Prasidh Krishna took 4/30 and Chris Lynn hit a 43-ball 55.

KKR Predicted Playing 11

Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Khartik, Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Piyush Chawla, Javon Searles, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna

KKR vs RR Prediction
KKR vs RR Match Prediction

RR Team News & Playing 11

RR Team News

Rajasthan Royals must play their play-off match against Kolkata Knight Riders without the man who fired them into a top-four place after Jos Buttler's stunning form earned him an England recall. Already without Ben Stokes, as expected, because of England's test match against Pakistan, the Royals did manage to beat Royal Challengers Bangalore without their English duo in the final group game, however.

Jofra Archer opened the batting as an experiment, while Heinrich Klaasen, Ish Sodhi and Ben Laughlin occupied the other overseas slots. D'Arcy Short is another option, but his inconsistent batting - his two scores of 44 being his only two scores of more than 11 in seven innings so far - looks to have cost him his place. Whether Archer opens again remains to be seen, after he failed to score from four balls in the match against Royal Challengers, but the combination of the four is likely to remain. More likely is that captain Ajinkya Rahane will open with Rahul Tripathi, who returned to form in perfect time with 80 not out against Royal Challengers Bangalore. 

RR Key Players

In Jos Buttler's absence, the return to form of Rahul Tripathi - who hit 80 from 58 balls against Royal Challengers Bangalore - has been perfectly timed. Buttler has been Rajasthan Royals' top scorer in their six previous matches during his sensational run of form. The big-hitting Englishman has not been the only star with the bat, however - Sanju Samson has 391 from 14 matches, including two half-centuries, and Ajinkya Rahane has scored 324 from his 13 innings.

With the ball, Jofra Archer has 13 wickets in nine matches, while Jaydev Unadkat has taken 11 and Shreyas Gopal is also in double figures. Krishnappa Gowtham needs one more to join them, having taken nine so far. It was Gopal who impressed last time out, however, earning the man-of-the-match award as he claimed 4/16 in Rajasthan's 30-run defeat of Royal Challengers Bangalore.

RR Form IPL 2018

Rajasthan Royals won four of their final five matches to grab the final play-off spot, with Jos Buttler in inspired batting form as he hit five consecutive half-centuries and, in fact, scored two unbeaten 90s in that stunning run of form. It helped the Royals overturn a run of just one win in six matches, which had threatened to leave them well short in their comeback season.

After a crushing nine-wicket loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad in their first game - after posting just 125/9 - Rajasthan hit back by beating Delhi Daredevils in a rain-affected second match and then had Sanju Samson's 45-ball 92 and Shreyas Gopal's economical bowling to thank as they scored 217/4 in a 19-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Kolkata won the first meeting of these two teams next up, however, chasing 161 to win with seven balls to spare, before Shane Watson scored a century to help Chennai Super Kings beat Rajasthan by 64 runs in the following game. Jofra Archer's three wickets and another Sanju Samson 50 helped them bounce back with a three-wicket win against Mumbai Indians but three consecutive defeats - against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab - all followed. 

Jos Buttler found form at the perfect time, however, and Jofra Archer was in the wickets, as Rajasthan hit back. They beat Kings XI Punjab by 15 runs, chased 177 to beat Chennai Super Kings with a ball to spare next up, and then defeated Mumbai Indians with two overs remaining - chasing 169; Buttler hit 94 from 53 balls, for his second consecutive unbeaten 90.

Kolkata ended their revival with a six-wicket win after bowling the Royals out for 142, but Rajasthan booked their play-off place as Rahul Tripathi's batting and Shreyas Gopal's bowling saw them to a 30-run win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

RR Predicted Playing 11

Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Heinrich Klaasen, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Stuart Binny, Shreyas Gopal, Ish Sodhi, Jaydev Unadkat, Ben Laughlin

KKR vs RR Team Form in Last Five Matches

KKR : W W W L L

RR : W L W W W

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KKR vs RR Head to Head

­KKR vs RR Head to Head

Kolkata Knight Riders have had the better of this fixture in IPL 2018, winning on both occasions so far. Rajasthan had previously won the last three completed matches between the two before their two-year IPL ban.

They first met this season in Jaipur, when Nitish Rana took a handy 2/11 with the ball as Kolkata restricted Rajasthan to 160/8 from their 20 overs, before Robin Uthappa's 36-run 48 anchored the reply. The Knight Riders reached their target with seven balls remaining, despite Krishnappa Gowtham's economical 2/23 from four overs with the ball.

More recently, Kolkata ended Rajasthan's recent winning streak with a six-wicket win at Eden Gardens. After dismissing Jos Buttler for 39 - the first time he had failed to pass 50 in six innings - Kolkata bowled the Royals out for 142 from 19 overs, with Kuldeep Yadav claiming 4/20 from four overs. In reply, Chris Lynn scored 45 from 42 to provide a useful platform as Kolkata reached 145/4 with 12 balls remaining - despite Ben Stokes taking 3/15.

­KKR vs RR Betting Odds

Without their two English stars, Rajasthan Royals are big underdogs for this fixture. Rajasthan are 2.50 to win with Betfair and 2.62 with Bet365. Kolkata are 1.50 with Betway & Bet365 and a best price of 1.55 with Betfair.

Chris Lynn is 3.40 with Bet365 and Betfair to top score at the top of the innings for Kolkata, as he did in the last match between these two at Eden Gardens, while in-form Dinesh Karthik is as high as 6.50 with Betfair but is a risk given he bats lower down the order.

In Jos Buttler's absence, Rahul Tripathi will need to step up again. After an unbeaten 80 last time out, he is 4.33 with Bet365 and 5.00 with Betfair to be Rajasthan Royals' top batsman.

­Kolkata vs Rajasthan Eliminator Prediction

Kolkata Knight Riders have already beaten Rajasthan Royals twice this season, and while the latter were in superb form to charge to the final play-off place they will sorely miss the man whose superb batting got them there. Jos Buttler's absence is a big blow - as is Ben Stokes', despite his indifferent form - and Kolkata can take full advantage.

Final Verdict

Back Kolkata Knight Riders to beat Rajasthan Royals at 1.50 with Betway & Bet365 and 1.55 with Betfair.

 

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