Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be playing Rajasthan Royals (RR) at their home ground (Eden Gardens) in match number 25 of the Pepsi Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 on Sunday.
KKR came very close to yet another victory against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), but rain played the role of a villain. They lost the game by 16 runs in D/L method. KKR will be playing without their 'mystery spinner' Sunil Narine and it would be interesting to see how they would approach this game without him. Meanwhile, Rajasthan Royals suffered two defeats in a row. They lost to Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the super over, followed by RCB completely outclassing them at Ahmedabad.
Both the teams would not want to lose this game as both will be looking to regain winning momentum. Here are some of the key players who can make a difference in this match:
Kolkata Knight Riders
Gautam Gambhir: He has led his side from the front and has set an example with the bat. He is their highest run-scorer in the tournament so far and would look to continue adding on to his tally. This veteran possess amazing leadership qualities and has won them two IPL trophies till date. He needs to get the basics right, before stepping on to the field against the Royals, who would be raring to win after consecutive losses.
Morne Morkel: This South African paceman has bowled well upfront with the new ball and has been generating fair amount of pace and bounce from these Indian wickets. Morkel is also KKR's highest wicket-taker in this edition of the tournament. He has bowled extremely well in tandem with Umesh Yadav and has successfully carried his form from the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2015, into this T20 extravaganza.
Rajasthan Royals
Ajinkya Rahane: India's star batsman Ajinkya Rahane is in very good form and has scored a lot of runs at the top of the order for the Royals. He is currently holding the 'orange cap' and would look to add more runs to his name. He does not hold himself back from playing the shots and always comes out to bat with positive intents. He is an extremely good fielder as well.
Shane Watson: This big Australian all-rounder was side-lined due to an injury at the start of IPL 2015. He missed a few of the opening games and he made a comeback against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and scored 73 from just 47 balls. He will chip in with a couple of overs with the ball as well and has the knack of picking up wickets at intervals. He is definitely one of the crucial players for the Royals.
