The second half of the Sunday double header in the Premier League is a straight knockout match for the chance to extend the season for the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Rajasthan Royals when they meet in Dubai.
The stakes are high but the equation is pretty simple here. The winners will keep their season alive, although they will be relying on other results to finish in the top four, the losers will see their campaign end here and now.
Kolkata Knight Riders
Consistency has been a big issue for the Kolkata Knight Riders this season so it might not be a bad thing that they know exactly what they have to do here. Their problem is they don’t just need to win, they need to win and do it by a pretty big margin because their net run rate is the worst of the teams in the mix and if they don’t improve it they will be relying on other teams to lose or in some cases not just lose but lose quite badly.
The positive for the Knight Riders going into this match is that they have suddenly found their touch with the bat again. Nitish Rana looks to have found form and that creates so many more options for a batting line up which has never truly formed a settled demeanour so far. Their bowlers are beginning to come to the fore too although dewy conditions hampered them in their last match against the Chennai Super Kings.
Rajasthan Royals
Two amazing run chases have kept the Rajasthan Royals alive this season and if they can conjure up another one here then they are entitled to take their place in the top four. They are in the same boat as the Knight Riders in that they don’t just need to win this match but they need to win by as much as possible because their net run rate isn’t great. It is better than their opponents here though which means they wouldn’t have to win by quite as much.
The big concern for the Royals going into this do or die clash is the state of their bowling attack. If you take Jofra Archer out of it, it has turned into something of a mess and if the Royals are put into bat and are asked to defend a score they could unravel quite quickly. The flip side of that is they have shown no score is out of their reach should they be required to chase down a score. That will give them confidence and belief for this match.
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Key Men
Nitish Rana is a quality batsman and he came to the fore in a big way in the last match. If he can get his side off to a good start here then he will set things up nicely for those to follow to tuck into the buffet that is likely to come along.
Ben Stokes has been brilliant with the bat in the last couple of matches but the Rajasthan Royals are going to need a complete performance from their all-rounder here to give them the best chance of winning. England know only too well that the bigger the match the better Stokes performs which is ominous for Kolkata.
Betting
I’m a little surprised that the Rajasthan Royals are the outsiders for this match but as I’ve intimated above I’m more than a little bit concerned if they are asked to bat first. Their bowling attack has turned into cannon fodder unless Jofra Archer does something special and he just can’t keep doing it all on his own. I wouldn’t want to be against the Royals if they are chasing a score down though so I’m heading back to the boundaries for a bet on this match.
The line for this one is 36.5 which in normal circumstances would probably be about right but I like the over for a couple of reasons. Firstly this Rajasthan attack is going the distance at the minute but their batsmen are clobbering boundaries at a similar rate. Secondly whoever chases here can’t just limp home. They need to win big so once the game is under control expect the shots to keep on coming rather than teams knocking it around for singles and things. This should be littered with boundaries.
Tips
WON – Back Over 36.5 boundaries for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with William Hill
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