IPL 2021: RR vs KKR – Match 18, How can Kolkata Knight Riders secure victory over Rajasthan Royals today?
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Kolkata Knight Riders
Rajasthan Royals (RR) have not had a good start to life under Sanju Samson in the Indian Premier League (IPL) at all. After a heartbreaking loss came a thrilling win which seemed to have rejuvenated the side. However, two crushing defeats have followed which have seen the side drop to the last place on the table. With an urgent need to address a plethora of issues, RR aren’t in a good place at the moment.
Things are more or less similar for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), but they will take heart from the fact that they showed fight and spirit in their previous match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Their remarkable recovery was worth the plaudits, but there are issues that remain. KKR must improve a great deal in order to better challenge for the playoff spots.
On that note, we take a look at how KKR can beat RR today.
IPL 2021: RR vs KKR – Key for KKR #1: Batting line-up must come together as a unit
KKR have had plenty of excellent individual batting performances this season. The likes of Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell have all fired in at least one match. However, the batting line-up hasn’t together as a unit. When the top order has fired, the middle order has failed and when the middle order has fired, the middle order has failed.
This has been the reason for KKR’s downfall and they would want to address this issue sooner rather than later. With such big names in the line-up, KKR can’t afford to undergo collapses like they have done. Talented batters like Shubman Gill and Eoin Morgan who haven’t fired yet, must step up.
IPL 2021: RR vs KKR – Key for KKR #2: Decide on the perfect bowling combination
The KKR bowlers were smashed all around the park in their previous match against Chennai Super Kings. As the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Faf du Plessis got going, the KKR bowlers looked clueless on how to dismiss them. Although it was a batting beauty of a wicket, the execution could have been better and that is something they would want to improve on.
Further, KKR haven’t figured out the perfect bowling combination yet. Bringing in Sunil Narine instead of Shakib Al Hasan seemed like a good move and the West Indian was decent with the ball. However, Kamlesh Nagarkoti had a horror day as he couldn’t contribute with both bat and ball. With Pat Cummins and Prasidh Krishna being expensive as well, there is a need for the management to decide on who to pick and who not to.
Also Read: ‘Team India should pick Rishabh Pant for the wicketkeeper-batsman slot’: VVS Laxman
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Nevin Clinton
(2399 Articles Published)