In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 so far, acclimatization has become a crucial factor for the teams. Although most teams have won the games batting first, captains are still choosing otherwise citing the dew factor, but teams batting first have had a 100% record in Dubai thus far. This is the first time this season that both Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be playing here, having played only at Abu Dhabi and Sharjah respectively until now.
The challenge will be steeper for RR as they played both their game at the smallest venue, and the key for them will be to adapt to the bigger ones that Dubai and Abu Dhabi will offer where the majority of their matches will be played going forward. Meanwhile, KKR bounced back well against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) after the slow start against Mumbai Indians (MI).
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While the batsmen came good with Shubman Gill being the hero, Eoin Morgan stood tall as the finisher. Against SRH, they also used as many as eight bowlers with enough variety at their disposal. However, Kuldeep Yadav’s form is still concerning. Rajasthan have their own set of concerns.
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Jaydev Unadkat didn’t complete his quota of four against Punjab. Jos Buttler failed to prove his worth in his first game and they also left out opener Yashasvi Jaiswal just after the one game. In their head-to-head game, KKR and RR are tied with both of them winning 10-10 in H2H clashes. Both the Super Overs this season have been in Dubai, so while it is possible to chase the big totals down, the teams will have to get their bowling combinations right.
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
The Royals are unlikely to make any change in their XI, although Jos Buttler is struggling to get going, Steve Smith has two half-centuries as an opener and is likely to continue there. They may want to give Robin Uthappa some time to build in the middle, promoting him up the order. Rajpoot’s comeback in the death against KXIP will help him to retain the spot. However, they will have to be wary of the three left-handers in KKR’s top five and not having an offspinner to target them.
Probable XI: Steven Smith (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Tom Curran, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Jaydev Unadkat
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Varun Chakravarthy and Kamlesh Nagarkoti impressed, and although they have ample bowling options, Kuldeep’s form will be a cause for concern. That said, it’s unlikely they’ll leave him out on the back of just two games so far, given their nature of backing their players.
Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
