Last Updated on 3 months by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2020 Match 54: KKR vs RR Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | KKR vs RR Dream11 Prediction Today | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals Key Players | Dubai Pitch Report

A playoffs match before the playoffs. Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, both of whom have had up-and-down seasons, are in desperation mode as they fight for a spot in the final tour

14 points will be enough for qualification this season, but the poor net run rates of these two sides makes it all a difficult proposition. Both these teams, in addition to winning this game, need SRH to lose against MI and KXIP against CSK. If KXIP win, then they will need the DC-RCB match tomorrow to be one-sided so the loser suffers a huge hit on net run rate.

So, it’s all to play for. RR have hit form, with Ben Stokes firing brilliantly over the past week. Also, with Jofra Archer in amazing form, and Sanju Samson rediscovering his early season form, RR can hold hope that they can win this. On the other end of the spectrum, KKR, after a superb win vs DC last weekend, have lost their last two and their net run rate of -0.467 could very well cost them.

A win is the absolute minimum these teams need, but a big win would be ideal. So, who will hold their nerve under the Dubai lights?

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

• What a turnaround for Ben Stokes. Before his last two games, Stokes was striking at just 110 in the powerplay in IPL 2020. In his last two games, he has struck at 195 in this period, providing RR with a great start. If he fires again, watch out.
• Sanju Samson has found some right form (36, 54* and 48 in his past three knocks), as he continues to push his case for a start in India’s T20I XI. However, can he improve his sub-par record vs KKR? (9 inns, 204 runs, avg. 22.67, SR 116.57)
• Steve Smith has also been working hard to get back into form after a lean middle period of the season. Smith has struck 57, 26*, 19, 11 and 31* in his last five games. Can he build on a start today?
• Signs could be pointing to a 30+ score for Smith today. He averages 31.29 vs KKR in his career, and RR need him to deliver in this crucial game.
• KKR’s batting has been incredibly up-and-down in IPL 2020. So, a key man in holding it together is Shubman Gill, who needs to build on his starts (eight double-figure scores in last 10 knocks). Gill scored 47 (34) vs RR earlier this season.
• His opening partner, Nitish Rana, has made two scores of 80+ in his past three knocks. However, there is a worrying pattern in recent matches: 0, 81, 0 and 87. Will today be a low score or can he deliver the goods?
• Time for Eoin Morgan to bat higher up the order. The KKR captain has good numbers in IPL 2020 (13 inns, 350 runs, avg. 35.00, SR 131.08), but one feels KKR haven’t been able to benefit from his undouted ability. Morgan struck an unbeaten 34* vs RR earlier this season, but only got to face 23 balls.
• Sunil Narine is crucial to KKR’s hopes. His 136 runs against RR come at a strike rate of 160 (avg. 19, though) and has the most wickets in KKR-RR matches (10 in 12 matches).
• Jos Buttler, the T20 finisher. Buttler has struck 70* (48) and 22* (11) in his last two knocks when RR have been chasing.
• How good has Jofra Archer been in IPL 2020? The fast bowler has taken 19 wickets in 13 matches this season, and 14 of them have been top-order batsmen. He took 2/18 vs KKR earlier this season.
• Can Lockie Ferguson bounce back after a bad game against CSK? The Kiwi speedster is key to KKR’s hopes as he can make breakthroughs in the middle overs.
• No finger spinner has more wickets than Varun Chakravarthy’s 15 in IPL 2020. Varun took 2/25 vs RR earlier this season.

Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 22, KKR, 11, RR 10, 1 abandoned.
• The chasing team dominates this fixture. When KKR bat second against RR, they have won nine of 11 matches. When RR bat second against KKR, they have won eight of 10.
• KKR ripped through RR’s top order earlier this season to win by 37 runs. Shivam Mavi was man of the match.
• Narine is crucial for KKR. He has good head-to-head records against many of RR’s batters: Stokes (17 balls, 17 runs, one dismissal), Samson (45 balls, 39 runs, three dismissals), Steve Smith (42 balls, 47 runs, two dismissals), Jos Buttler (41 balls, 43 runs, two dismissals).
• Shreyas Gopal to bowl in the powerplay? He has eight wickets in IPL at this stage (avg. 13, econ. 7).

Possible Playing 11

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1. Shubman Gill, 2. Nitish Rana, 3. Rahul Tripathi, 4. Sunil Narine, 5. Eoin Morgan (c), 6. Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7. Rinku Singh/Prasidh Krishna, 8. Pat Cummins, 9. Lockie Ferguson, 10. Kamlesh Nagarkoti, 11. Varun Chakravarthy

Rajasthan Royals: 1. Ben Stokes, 2. Robin Uthappa, 3. Sanju Samson (wk), 4. Steve Smith (c), 5. Jos Buttler, 6. Riyan Parag, 7. Rahul Tewatia, 8. Jofra Archer, 9. Shreyas Gopal, 10. Varun Aaron/Ankit Rajpoot, 11. Kartik Tyagi

Dubai Pitch and Weather Report

The chasing team has won seven of the last nine games at Dubai. Dew is expected to be a key factor once again. Also, when you consider the two teams love chasing against each other, one can expect the captain who wins the toss to select to bowl first.

Dream11 Prediction

Option 1:

Option 2:

Match Prediction

Rajasthan is in the better form, but this one could come down to which team chases. So, the team batting first will need to put up 170-180 to feel in the game, given the dew around.

Thanks for reading!