Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders IPL Tips: 100/1 special catches the eye

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Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders
Wednesday 26 March, 14:00
TV: live on Sky Sports

Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team news

Rajasthan Royals are wounded after they were on the end of a Sunrisers special. They conceded 286. But maybe they shouldn't be too down. They won't be the last team to feel the sharp edge of the SRH blade and they were more than competitive in the chase, reply with a very strong 242.

They could still make changes. Jofra Archer has to be considered vulnerable after conceding record figures. Wanindu Hasaranga was left out as Royals picked only three overseas players. They could make themselves much stronger with a small tweak. 

If they use Sanju Samson as a batter sub again and Tushar Deshpande as a bowling sub they will have a decent balance. It does seem that Hasaranga is crucial as a fulcrum so it was a bit concerning he missed on in game one.

Possible RR XI: Jaiswal, Samson (Deshpande sub), Parag, Rana, Jurel, Hetmyer, Hasaranga, Dubey, Theekshana, Archer/Farooqi, Sandeep

Kolkata Knight Riders were beaten in game on by RCB. It was a hugely disappointing defeat considering at the ten-over mark batting first they had their foot on the throat of their rivals. 

They were cruising at 107 for two but posted just 174 in an alarming display. It is hard not to be concerned by the middle-order flop but it is probably shrewd to put it down as a one-off. We don't expect team changes. 

Possible KKR XI:  De Kock, Narine, Rahane, Venkatesh, Raghuvanshi (Arora sub), Rinku, Russell, Ramandeep, Harshit, Johnson, Varun

Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders IPL pitch report

These two clash at Barsapara and - quelle surprise - runs are on the menu. Five of the last eight first-innings have seen 190 or more busted. And the runs per over in the last five night games is 0.1 runs off ten an over. KKR were also wasteful in the field against RCB so it is fair to reckon that both bowling attack will be slightly fearful here of their numbers. An early par line suggests we're likely to be paying early 190s on the overs line. We're not averse to that. We've got to remember this is 12-a-side cricket with the sub rule and teams should have at least seven batting options. Sportsbook offer 5/23.50 that both teams hit 190. 

Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders match prediction

KKR are favourites to hit back in this one with the Exchange making them 1.784/5 favourites. Royals are 2.285/4. This is a curious affair with one suspecting that the loser could be drawn into crisis mode with defeat.

Perhaps Royals are the value here as we need to recognise that KKR are finding their feet following player churn. They have lost key batters in the middle order like Shreyas Iyer, the former skip, and Nitish Rana, who is now with Royals. Eventually they may come on strong.

Royals, having chased well at Hyderabad, could be the option in another bat second attempt. But it's a wait-till-the-break bet as we could get significantly bigger. Royals can put KKR under pressure in the field.

Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders specials

Sportsbook offer 100/1101.00 that KKR win, both teams make 180 and Ajinkya Rahane and Rana top score. We're often averse to such fantastic wagers but merely point this one out because of the flat wicket and the fact that Rana is an old fave. Not so long ago he was Mr Reliable on the tops.

He could go well against his old team. Rahane looked in sublime touch versus RCB and may reign himself in and bat time, which is never a bad thing for a tops bet.

Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders specials

Two to follow here on top bat and top bowler. For Royals, we would have thought Riyan Parag would have been shorter than 9/25.50 after he came in at No 3 in their opener. Parag is the main man for Royals and has a win rate of 27% in the last two years. For KKR, we are on Varun Chakravarthy for top bowler after he was pushed out to 3/14.00 His win rate is 11/43.75 and has been mighty tight against Royals in the past with an economy of 7.4. 

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