Knights, Royals at daggers drawn

DUBAI: Rajasthan Royals (RR) will look to keep the winning momentum going when it meets Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match here on Wednesday.

Having won high-scoring contests against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Sharjah, Steve Smith-led Rajasthan has taken IPL 2020 by storm. In its success so far, it has found two stars in Sanju Samson and all-rounder Rahul Tewatia, both of whom have outshone the marquee players. While Samson struck match-winning fifties in its first two games, Tewatia made a stunning turnaround against Kings XI to guide the team to victory. The Indian duo would be keen to deliver once again, against a KKR side that is fresh from a win.

Captain and opening batsman Steve Smith will aim to continue his run-scoring spree at the top of the order, while wicketkeeper Jos Buttler will be waiting to explode. In the bowling department, the onus will be on Jofra Archer and Tom Curran to come good.

Medium pacers Ankit Rajpoot and Jaydev Unadkat will have to complement the English duo well if RR is to restrict a strong KKR batting line-up. Kolkata, which has Dinesh Karthik as its skipper, would be delighted with the form of Shubman Gill, who played a fantastic knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) last time out.

Apart from Karthik, KKR possesses Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell in the middle-order. World Cup winner Morgan did have a good outing against SRH, but would want to contribute even more for the team’s cause. Jamaican Russell is yet to get going and would look to come to the party soon.

Pat Cummins, the highest-earning foreign player in the league, made a superb comeback against SRH after a bad performance against Mumbai Indians (MI). The Australian will spearhead the pace-bowling department, which also consists of Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti. Mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy is expected to do well once again.