Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be locking horns with each other in the 56th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, May 11.  KKR must be high on confidence ahead of this game as they are coming on the back of a close win over Punjab Kings (PBKS) at home. Skipper Nitish Rana will be hoping his team to continue the winning momentum and make a stronger case for themselves to reach the playoffs.

KKR and RR will be locking horns with each other for the first time in IPL 2023 and hence, both the teams will be keen to take another two points. On the other hand, Rajasthan Royals have ten points at the halfway mark and are currently placed 5th on the points table. Their batting looks formidable with both top order and middle order in great form, followed by an all-round bowling unit.

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Skipper Sanju Samson will be hoping his team to get back to winning ways after suffering a loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and register a win against Kolkata. KKR has locked horns with RR in 27 games in which, KKR has pulled off 14 victories while Rajasthan has won just 12 games. 

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

Umesh Yadav, who has been sidelined with a minor left hamstring injury for the last three games, was seen bowling with a full run-up on the eve of the game. He was seen bowling to Rinku Singh on the center practice wicket alongside other first-choice Varun Chakaravarthy, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, and Harshit Rana, with Vaibhav Arora not part of the drill. What that could mean is anybody’s guess but that possible change aside, KKR is unlikely to make changes to their winning combination.

Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Vaibhav Arora/Umesh Yadav, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy. 

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Trent Boult missed the last game with a niggle but should have come right back into the Playing XI for this one. Expect them to play three spinners too on this track. This year, RR has been one of the worst sides in the middle overs, as they have lost as many as 32 wickets for only 749 runs from overs 7-15. That’s got a lot to do with Shimron Hetmyer’s dip in form, the batter totaling only 25 runs in his last six innings. How he and other players in the middle-order fare against KKR’s three-pronged spin attack could shape the match.

Probable XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:

Jos Butler, Sanju Samson, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy

Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:

Jos Butler, Sanju Samson (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Jason Roy, Nitish Rana, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Andre Russell (c), Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy, Trent Boult