IPL 2023: Resurgent KKR face struggling RR, aim to break into top-4

A resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders will look for their third victory in a row in their fight for survival when they face a struggling Rajasthan Royals in the IPL here on ThursdayFacing mustwin scenarios the twotime champions showed tremendous resilience to bounce back into reckoning after their wins over Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings both in dramatic lastball finishesThe wins have not only boosted their sagging morale but also taken the side to sixth place from eighth on the points tableAlso ReadShardul Thakur allays concerns over fitness claims KKR did not need his serviceAs things stand four teams including KKR and Rajasthan Royals are locked on 10 points in a midtable traffic rush for the playoffsRR may be ahead on net run rate NRR but the equation could change quickly if KKR continue their winning run as a victory for either side will take them into the topfourWhile KKR are high on confidence after two thrilling wins the Royals last seasons runnersup would be at their lowest ebb after three defeats The Royals had posted 200plus totals but were done in by some baffling strategies in two of their three losses which has led to a mustwin scenario for them as wellIn terms of key battles and team strategies KKR would once again rely on Varun Chakravarthy who has been the central character in both their previous winsHaving defended nine runs in the last over against SRH Chakravarthys 326 made all the difference against Punjab KingsAt a time their seasoned slow bowler Sunil Narine is finding it difficult to get wickets Chakravarthy has emerged as KKRs spin spearhead with 17 wickets so far this seasonWhile KKRs thinktank refuses to give up on Narine who has just one wicket in the last eight matches its Chakravarthys four overs which would again be crucialWith the KKR team management not bowling World Test Championship finalbound Shardul Thakur against PBKS the pace department looked woefully short on experienceHad it not been for the heroics of Rinku Singh and Andre Russell the seam duo of Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana had almost lost the match after leaking 36 runs in the last two overs against PBKSIt remains to be seen if KKR utilise the services of a fitagain Shardul in the crunch match Against a batterheavy Royals with the likes Yashasvi Jaiswal Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson in fine form KKR would hope their bowlers get their act togetherWhile KKR need to plug the gaps in the pace bowling department the Royals must take a fresh look at their bowling strategyDefending 214 against SRH the Royals decision to give Kuldip Yadav the penultimate over instead of Obed McCoy backfired as the rookie seamer conceded 24 runsThe biggest positive for KKR in their win over PBKS has been the return to form of the bighitting Andre Russell 42 runs off 23 ballsThe Jamaican was at his vintage best when he demolished Sam Curran with three sixes in a matchflipping 20run penultimate overWhile skipper Nitish Rana has been the backbone of their batting Rinkus emergence as a finisher is coming off well for the team From the Royals perspective the trio of Rana Rinku and Russell would be their main threats Their battle against the Royals spinbowling stalwarts Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs could prove to be decisiveSquadsKolkata Knight Riders Nitish Rana c Rahmanullah Gurbaz Jason Roy Venkatesh Iyer Andre Russell Sunil Narine Shardul Thakur Lockie Ferguson Umesh Yadav Tim Southee Harshit Rana Varun Chakravarthy Anukul Roy Rinku Singh N Jagadeesan Vaibhav Arora Suyash Sharma David Wiese Kulwant Khejroliya Mandeep Singh Aarya Desai and Johnson CharlesPunjab Kings Sanju Samson c Yashasvi Jaiswal Jos Buttler Shimron Hetmyer Joe Root Devdutt Padikkal Dhruv Jurel Riyan Parag Sandeep Sharma Trent Boult Obed McCoy Navdeep Saini Kuldeep Sen Kuldip Yadav Ravichandran Ashwin Yuzvendra Chahal KC Cariappa Jason Holder Donovan Ferreira Kunal Rathore Adam Zampa KM Asif Murugan Ashwin Akash Vashisht and Abdul P AMatch starts 730pmThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever