Friday, 25 April 2025
Friday, 25 April 2025
Two wounded tigers are gearing up to face off at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
In their last encounter, reigning champions KKR were battered and bruised by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, while the Rajasthan Royals come in after being mauled by the Sunrisers Hyderabad. But, when these sides take the field, it will again be a fresh start.
RR and KKR have both won 14 of the 30 matches played between the two. The remainder of the encounters were washed out. What happens this time round? Let's leave that to the end of the day. But what we can foresee is key player battles.
Quinton de Kock vs Jofra Archer
Both of these marquee signings come in after a shoddy performance in the first game. Jofra conceded 76 runs in four overs vs Sunrisers Hyderabad and it was mainly the left-handed batters who sent Archer flying around the park. Quinton de Kock was dismissed for just four runs on his KKR debut. But the Protea can turn things around for himself if he capitalizes on Archer’s pace. Across all T20s, where the two have gone head to head, QDK has taken a liking to Archer, scoring 82 runs off 45 balls at a staggering strike rate of 182.2. He has lost his wicket to the British quick on two occasions only. Can QDK do what Head, Sharma and Kishan did to Archer three days ago?
Ajinkya Rahane vs Maheesh Theekshana
Two former CSK boys who would have seen quite a bit of each other in the nets but Maheesh Theekshana may have the upper hand here. Rahane, who scored 56 runs against RCB, striking at more than 200 against the pacers, crumbled against spin. He also slowed down after the powerplay, a pattern that has been consistent in Rahane’s batting across formats. He has been dismissed 39 times by right-arm spinners and Theekshana could be the thorn in the KKR captain’s flesh. And we already know the Sri Lankan spinner has an affinity for dismissing right-handed batters. With a total of 51 wickets to his name, Theekshana has dismissed right-handers 33 times, making up 64.71 per cent of his wickets.
Sanju Samson vs Anrich Nortje
KKR might have missed a trick against RCB when they decided to bench Anrich Nortje. His express pace can be a game-changer, especially if he is up against Sanju Samson. The RR captain, who is currently playing as an impact player, is sure to open the innings for the team. Samson has an issue facing short balls, which was made clear during the five-match T20 series between India and England earlier this year. Samson tried hard to pull the likes of Archer and Mark Wood, only to be dismissed playing the short ball. If Nortje bowls a 145kmph short ball to Samson, it would in all likelihood be a wicket. And if Samson can counter his issues with the short ball, it will be a treat to watch him take on Nortje.
Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Sunil Narine
While he didn’t have any affect in the match versus Sunrisers, it's very hard to forget Jaiswal’s knock of 98* vs KKR in 2023. His aggression vs spin makes him a dynamo that KKR need to keep under control using the likes of Sunil Narine. Narine's bowling economy is better than anyone else in the league. But will Narine be able to keep Jaiswal in check? The Windies spinner has 181 IPL scalps of which only 57 are left-handers. Jaiswal on the other hand has lost his wicket to spin on seven occasions only. This will be a match-up to watch out for because if anyone can take on Narine, it's Jaiswal.
Shimron Hetmyer vs Varun Chakravarthy
Shimron Hetmyer has only faced the Varun Chakravrathy mystery in three IPL matches. The result is staggering and in favour of Chakravrathy who has had the better of Hetmyer. In the three matches that they have gone head to head, Hetmyer has only scored six runs off Chakravarthy's bowling and lost his wicket twice. KKR know that the key to their success will be similar to last year when Chakravarthy and Narine spun their web around the batters. KKR will once again bank on Chakravarthy to deliver against RR.
