Guwahati, May 18: Rajasthan Royals will be desperate to snap their four-match losing streak and finish in the top two when they meet table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders in an important IPL game here on Sunday.
Having secured the playoff berth with 16 points, Royals have started floundering at the business end of the tournament losing four matches on the trot.
Their batting flair has eluded them as they have not managed to cross the 150-mark in their last two matches, and with their star England opener Jos Buttler returning home for national duty, the Royals have big shoes to fill.Their top three batters Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Sanju Samson and local hero Riyan Parag will have to shoulder additional responsibilities if they are to snap the losing streak and head to the playoffs finishing in top-two, that will give them two cracks to reach the final.KKR (19 points), on the other hand, have already assured themselves a table top position after a washout against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad in the previous round handed them one point.They will be high on confidence but at the same time they may have to guard against complacency.
Since their win in the return leg clash against Mumbai Indians at Eden Gardens on May 11, KKR have not played any match with the washout in Ahmedabad.
Travelling to Ahmedabad and then back home in Kolkata for a day’s practice and again heading to Guwahati for the final league clash could be quite frustrating and break their rhythm of four-match winning streak.
It remains to be seen if the Gautam Gambhir-mentored side manage to hold on to the winning momentum without appearing to be rusty.
In between, they have lost their in-form opener Phil Salt, their second leading rungetter this season as the Englishman is back home for the series against Pakistan in the build up to T20 World Cup next month.
Salt and Narine, the two KKR openers, have scored 897 runs with seven fifties and one century between them at strike rate of 182-plus each.
Match starts at 7.30 PM. (PTI)
