‘We have momentum to win vs KKR’

Having secured a hat-trick of wins, Rajasthan Royals (RR) will look to carry the winning momentum against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their next Indian Premier League (IPL) fixture and inch closer to a play-off berth, said RR seamer Dhawal Kulkarni. Rajasthan kept alive their play-off hopes by beating defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) by seven wickets with two overs to spare last night.

The Ajinkya Rahane-led side will face two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders tomorrow at Edens Gardens. “All the games are crucial for us. Maybe, in the next game we’ve got a good chance to beat Kolkata Knight Riders. With the momentum that we’ve got, I’m sure we’ll be able to do that,” Kulkarni said after RR’s win against Mumbai on Sunday.

Rajasthan Royals climbed up to the fifth spot with 12 points in as many games. On the move to promote Buttler to the top of the order, Kulkarni said: “I think it was a collective decision of the captain, (head of cricket) Zubin (Bharucha), (mentor) Shane (Warne) and (batting coach) Amol (Muzumdar). So he’s doing well for us and I hope he continues to be in that form for us.”

Fast bowler Jofra Archer also contributed with early strikes in successive balls to send back in-form Mumbai Indians opener Suryakumar Yadav and skipper Rohit Sharma. Kulkarni said he was not surprised by the impact made by Archer against Rajasthan. “I feel a bowler who’s bowling at 145 (kmph), it’s very difficult for a batsman to face that - especially with the way he bowls, the high arm action that he’s got. Wankhede’s wicket has got good bounce and good carry. He’s been bowling consistently well,”