IPL rivalries have a flavor of their own – so much so that audiences often look forward to the matches that their favorite teams are going to play. At times, the home team of a state is their favorite team. At other times, IPL fans begin to adore any particular team because their favorite players are a part of the team.
Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to lock horns on 16th April 2024 in Eden Gardens for match 31 of IPL 2024. It is noteworthy that both teams have 1 IPL trophy each to their name. Rajasthan Royals won the tournament’s first edition which was held in 2008 under the captaincy of Shane Warne. KKR, similarly, did the honors in 2012 under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy.
Taking both teams’ IPL performances to date under consideration, it is easy to see that both have left some margin where they could not perform up to fans’ expectations.
Star names are the highlights of both, RR and KKR
The IPL trophy has been elusive for RR for 16 years now, but in the past couple of years, RR has looked like one of the most promising IPL teams.
The magic group has found a new fervor under the captainship of Sanju Samson, who as a batsman is a class act himself. Jos Buttler, Hetmyer, and Yashasvi Jaiswal send audiences’ imagination soaring with their power hitting. India’s spin twins; Ashwin and Chahal withhold great potential for RR.
KKR, on the other hand, is always known to dance to a different tune. These guys hit way too many sixes each time they play. Andrew Russel, better known as Dre Russ is their six-hitting powerhouse, an all-rounder who chips in with a couple of decent overs in all matches.
Sunil Narine has an uncanny knack for getting wickets. He also opens the batting and when he does his thing, the matches are frequently beyond anyone’s reach. KKR team also boasts stars such as mystery spinner, Varun Chakraborthy, ever reliable Nitish Rana, and star Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer. Venkatesh Iyer does justice to his all-round duties and was recently a replacement for Hardik Pandya in team India. Shivam Mavi is a memorable name among KKR fast bowlers, and Phil Salt keeps the match scorecard busy whenever he bats.
Both teams have the firepower to light up the Eden Garden skies. It is just a matter of who is able to put up a better performance on the designated day.
Form Guide
Rajasthan Royals are in a red hot rolicking form having won five of their six IPL games played. For KKR – it’s 4 of 5 so for. These two teams currently take the top two spots in the IPL points table. The tie scheduled for 16th April at Eden Gardens is nothing short of a clash of Titans. It is noteworthy that upon winning this match KKR has every chance of toppling Rajasthan from the top of the points table.
Head-to-Head records
In the 28 IPL matches played so far among the two teams, KKR won 14 matches while RR has won 13. One remaining match produced no result. So, both teams stand nearly shoulder to shoulder from the historical perspective.
KKR vs. RR Fantasy Team
Shreyas Iyer (C), Sanju Samson (VC), Jos Buttler, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Phil Salt (WK), Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakaravarthy, Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Where to watch
The telecast begins at 7:30 p.m. on Star Sports.
