Kolkata Knight Riders Playing 11 (KKR Playing XI) & Rajasthan Royals Playing 11 (RR Playing XI), IPL 2024, Match 31: Kolkata Knight Riders will be taking on Rajasthan Royals in the 31st game of the ongoing IPL 2024. The KKR vs RCB game is scheduled to be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tueday (April 16).
RR are currently at the top of the points table while KKR are at the second spot. Both the teams have started their season in a dominating fashion and have lost just one game so far. And as they look to bolster their position in the top two of the points table, we are taking a look at the probable playing elevens of both the teams.
KKR Playing XI:
Openers: Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine
Phil Salt and Sunil Narine are set to open the innings for KKR against RR. In the last game against LSG, Narine failed to get going and was out for just six. He will be looking to bounce back. On the other hand, Salt played a match-winning knock of 89 not out and would be eyeing another good outing.
Middle-order batters and allrounders: Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer(c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh
Most of KKR’s middle-order batters did not get the chance to bat in the last game as the two-time champions chased down the 162-run target by losing just two wickets. Angkrish Raghuvanshi was out for just 6 before Shreyas Iyer played a 38-run knock and shared an unbeaten 120-run stand with Salt to take KKR home. With the ball, Andre Russell picked up the important wicket of KL Rahul.
Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakravarthy
KKR’s bowlers had a good outing against LSG as they managed to restrict them to 161. Mitchell Starc led the charge with the ball, taking three wickets for 28 runs. Barring Harshit Rana, the other bowlers picked up one wicket each.
RR Playing XI:
Openers: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler
Yashasvi Jaiswal finally got some runs under his belt as he scored 38 runs against PBKS in the last game. The RR opener is yet to fire in IPL 2024 and will be hoping for a good outing against KKR. Jos Buttler missed the last game due to a niggle and is expected to return to the team for the forthcoming game.
Middle-order batters and allrounders: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, R Ashwin
Sanju Samson was out for just 18 runs against PBKS and will look to bounce back. The likes of Riyan Parag (23) and Dhruv Jurel (6) were not able to score big either while Shimron Hetmyer stayed till the end and played a match-winning cameo of 27 runs from just 10 balls. R Ashwin missed the game due to a niggle and is set to return to the playing eleven.
Bowlers: Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal
The RR bowlers had a good outing in the last game against PBKS as they restricted them to a modest 147/8. Avesh Khan and Keshav Maharaj picked up two wickets each. Although Ashwin’s return could see Maharaj losing his place in the team, he can be used as an impact player. Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Sen picked up a wicket each.
