KKR will want to get to the everyone-wants-to-be-there eight win mark, while RPS will want to move a step closer to sealing a place in the top four. With plenty at stake, this IPL 2017 Match 41 at the Eden Gardens should provide plenty of the proverbial thrills and spills.
A win for KKR will see them climb back to the top of the IPL 2017 points table and pretty much seal a spot in the playoffs as well.
RPS will go level on points with KKR with a victory on Wednesday, which would be their seventh in eight matches, a remarkable run after a slow start to IPL 2017.
What has gone well for RPS is their bowling. After struggling all last season and the start of this, the RPS bowling attack has improved considerably.
Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur – while they might be expensive at times – have taken timely wickets and even shown some nous in their death bowling.
Ben Stokes has proved to be capable with the ball as well, erasing doubts over his effectiveness with in this format.
Dan Christian has proved to be quite handy, while Washington Sundar has come in and bowled a few tidy overs.
And then there is the trump card – Imran Tahir. The leg-spinner has been RPS' best bowler by some margin, and with 16 wickets in ten matches to his name, Tahir will be the key to RPS reaching the playoffs and then going far from there, in IPL 2017.
RPS already have a really strong batting lineup – as they showed in the previous match against the Gujarat Lions, when the team, courtesy a hundred from Ben Stokes, recovered from 10/3 to chase down 161 – and what Smith will want is for his bowlers to continue their good form.
Particularly against a strong batting team like KKR.
No matter what the problem, who gets injured or suspended, Gautam Gambhir's team keep finding ways to win matches, and with seven wins already in IPL 2017, one more should be enough to ensure they are one of the four teams in the playoffs this season.
KKR are coming off a heavy defeat to the Sunrisers Hyderabad, though, when their bowlers failed to stop David Warner and their batsmen succumbed to the pressure of the big chase.
RPS will know, as long as they put in another all-round performance, they will be in with a pretty good chance of upsetting KKR at their own backyard.
When and where to watch live
KKR vs RPS is scheduled for an 8pm IST start. TV and live streaming information for IPL 2017 Match 41 is below.
India: TV: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN, Sony ESPN HD, Sony Max. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
Middle East: TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD. Live Streaming: OSN Play.
UK: TV: Sky Sports 3. Live Streaming: Watch Sky Sports.
USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV Online.
South Africa and Sub Saharan Africa: TV: SuperSport Two. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.
International: Live Streaming: Cricketgateway.
