Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals: Back 7/1 Harshit to star with ball

• Harshit stand out at 7s

• Eden Gardens pitch flat

• Root potential value at 13/2

Kolkata Knight Riders v Rajasthan Royals
Thursday, 11 April, 15:00
TV: Live on Sky Sports

Team news

Kolkata have won two on the spin and are perfecting the come-from-behind win. Against Sunrisers and Punjab they were on the brink but got up.

They have that etheral quality of momentum which is just as well as they probably need three wins from their last three and a positive net run rate to have a chance of qualification.

Probable XII: Gurbaz, Roy, Rana, Venkatesh, Russell, RInku, Shardul, Narine, Harshit, Arora, Chakravarthy, Suyash *Potential sub

Rajasthan are under massive pressure and even three straight wins may not be enough. Their loss to Sunrisers when Sandeep Sharma bowled a no-ball was catastrophic.

They have also lost faith in their best XI and players must have lost confidence in what their role is. Joe Root could play again, Trent Boult might come back. It's guesswork now with with this lot.

Probable XII: Jaiswal, Buttler, Samson, Root, Hetmyer, Parag, Jurel, Ashwin, Boult, Sandeep, Chahal, Kuldip *Potential sub

Pitch report

The Eden Gardens pitch equals runs. In 11 of the last 12 both teams have scored 170 or more. Check prices with Sportsbook for a 12th win with 11/10 available for the Punjab match.

Three of the last 12 have seen both teams hit 200. KKR are flaky with the ball and Rajasthan won't be the worst bet to bust 180 or more at around 1.9110/11

How to play

Kolkata are 1.9620/21 with Royals 2.021/1. A few weeks ago we'd have been steaming into such a price about the Royals. Not anymore. They've hit the panic button and their campaign could end here.

They may be better off chasing after their disastrous efforts batting first and we'd consider them in a chase at slightly bigger odds for a back-to-lay trade.

Tops value

Both Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson have average records against the probable KKR attack so we'd swerve both at 11/4 and 4/1 respectively for top Royals bat. This may be a time to back Root at a chunky 13/2.

For KKR be aware that Jason Roy is a potential sub. Players must be in the starting XI for bets to count. Rinku Singh looks chunky at 17/2.

The best value is with the ball, though. Pacer Harshit Rana opened the bowling and bowled at the death. There's no way he's 7/1 for most KKR wickets, particularly betting without sub Suyash Sharma. It's a Best Bet from this week's Cricket...Only Bettor podcast.