The knockout phase of the IPL has started a bit early this season, as 5 teams are vying for those two remaining playoff spots, and almost every encounter between these 5 teams(KKR, RR, RCB, MI and KXIP) is a knockout fixture.
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KKR and RR will be the first one’s to take stage, as the Royals travel to the Eden Gardens tonight in what is a must-win encounter for both sides.
Bookmakers who offer online IPL betting have marked KKR as favourites for this clash, as the odds of a KKR win are 1.61 as opposed to that of 2.3 for a RR win.
Both teams are coming off good wins and have momentum on their side. RR overcame a spirited Mumbai unit at the Wankhede a couple of days back, whereas KKR came out on top in a high scoring encounter in Indore a few days ago.
While KKR would like to believe that their wins have come from various players contributing, RR’s success in the last few games has been purely because of Jos Buttler’s form at the top of the order.
Rahane would want a more balanced performance from his side this time round, as you can’t expect Buttler to take you home every single game.
Robin Uthappa and Nitish Rana will have to raise their game, as the duo haven’t contributed a lot in the last few games. If the duo can fire, KKR would hold themselves in good stead against a strong RR unit.
Let’s get to business now!
IPL Fantasy League(Fantasy Tips for KKR vs RR)
Transfer out: Siddharth Kaul
Transfer in: Mayank Markande
Now, I already have Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Prasidh Krishna and Nitish Rana in my side for this game.
Jofra Archer, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell are the three players in my consideration set.
Andre Russell is a high impact player but because he bats at number 6, his ‘impact potential’ takes a serious hit when KKR bat second. Also, he hasn’t been bowling his quota of 4 overs on a consistent basis and hence drops to 3rd in my pecking order for this game.
However, he could turn out to be a good differential for people who have a lot of transfers in the bag(20+).
Now, between Archer and Narine, Narine seems like the safer bet, as he’ll open the batting and get to bowl his full quota of 4 overs.
However, if you are mighty impressed by Archer’s bowling, you could get him in ahead of Narine, but only if RR bowl first. That way he’ll surely get his death overs in.
Verdict: Narine is the best possible choice and you should go in with him.
I won’t be able to draft in any of the above players for this game as my team combination doesn’t allow me to do so. But for people who can, go in for Narine.
For the uncapped player, I will have to get in a bowler, and with Prasidh Krishna already in my side, I will have to get in an uncapped bowler from tomorrow’s game between KXIP and MI.
Mayank Markande seems like the best pick and hence I’ll get him in. Ankit Rajpoot is another option, but he might get dropped for Barinder Sran and hence I don’t want to take that risk at this stage.
Match Powerplayer: Ben Stokes
2nd innings powerplayer- Jos Buttler(if RR bat second)/Nitish Rana(if KKR bat second)
Fandromeda(Fantasy Tips for KKR vs RR)
Transfer out: ABD, Hardik Pandya
Transfer in: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn
Now, I already have Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Krishnappa Gowtham and Ish Sodhi in my side for this game.
The consideration set comes down to two, as Archer is already in my side.
Sunil Narine emerges as a better option than Andre Russell, however, I do not quite have the opportunity to get him in for today’s game.
In order to get him in, I’ll have to transfer out Hardik Pandya, who has a game tomorrow. If you are ready to make that sacrifice, you’ll also have to transfer out another player, so as to satisfy the cost constraints.
I’ll transfer out ABD for that and will have to get in a batsman(because of my team combination). Chris Lynn seems like a good option, but could prove to be a hit and miss too. But in order to fit Narine into your XI, you will have to take that risk. Hope against hope that he goes big tonight(even if you aren’t a KKR supporter).
Batting Captain: Jos Buttler
Bowling Captain: Jofra Archer
Happy team picking!
