Rajasthan Royals will take on defending champions, Kolkata Knight Riders, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Monday. Both the teams have two points each on the score table after winning their respective first matches of the IPL sixth season.
Overview:
Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders are playing their second match after beating Delhi Daredevils in their respective opening games. They will be keen to keep the momentum going.
Kolkata Knight Riders, which registered a convincing win against the Delhi Daredevils in their opening game, have been consistent in their performance since the last season. But having won 16 of the 25 matches played at their home ground, they will give any team a run for their money.
In their previous 10 meetings, Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders have won five matches each.
Team News:
Rajasthan Royals: Captain Rahul Dravid guided the team to a win in the last match with a convincing 65 runs. The top order - Kushal Janith Perera, Ajinkya Rahane and Stuart Binny - contributed to the total score, which Dravid will be happy. The availability of Shane Watson for the second match will boost the confidence of the team even further.
Kevon Cooper bowled well in the last match, taking three wickets at crucial stages. He will be expected to give a similar spell in Monday's match. Sreesanth also took a wicket for 18 runs while Samuel Badree's spell was expensive.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Skipper Gautam Gambhir, who scored 41 runs in the first match, must be happy that the top order - Jacques Kallis and Manoj Tiwary - performed well.
Sunil Narine took four wickets in the last match, while Brett Lee and Rajat Bhatia took two wickets apiece. Lakshmipathy Balaji was also impressive with a wicket for 20 runs from four overs. They will be expected to trouble Rajasthan Royals' batsmen on Monday.
Prediction:
Rajasthan Royals, which have a good record at home, is expected to win the match.
SQUADS:
Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid (C), Ajinkya Rahane, Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan, Ashok Menaria, Brad Hodge, Brad Hogg, Dishant Yagnik, Fidel Edwards, Harmeet Singh, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Kumar Boresha, Kushal Janith Perera, Owais Shah, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Shukla, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Sachin Baby, Samuel Badree, Sanju Samson, Shane Watson, Shaun Tait, Shreevats Goswami, Siddharth Trivedi, Stuart Binny, Vikramjeet Malik
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Brendon McCullum, Brett Lee, Debabrata Das, Eoin Morgan, Iqbal Abdulla, Jacques Kallis, James Pattinson, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Manvinder Bisla, Shami Ahmed, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan McLaren, Ryan ten Doeschate, Sachithra Senanayake, Sarabjit Ladda, Shakib Al Hassan, Sunil Narine, Yusuf Pathan
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 8:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
