RR vs KKR: The Rajasthan Royals will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders in a thrilling contest between the two giants who are yet to make a winning start to their IPL 2025 campaign. The defending champions lost the opener to RCB, while last year’s runner-up, SRH, dominated RR with a mammoth total.
Rajasthan Royals will once again be led by skipper Riyan Parag as the young skipper takes to the field on his home ground at Guwahati.
Table of Contents
Players to look out for in the RR vs KKR match:
Sunil Narine—Sunil Narine has been a star performer in the contest between the two sides, as the batter Narine has the most runs playing for KKR, and also bowler Narine picked the most wickets for KKR against Rajasthan Royals.
Maheesh Theekshana—Theekshana can come in handy under the spin-friendly conditions of Guwahati, as the track largely sports spin bowling. Theekshana will also have some commendable support if countryman Wanindu Hasaranga is also brought into the side.
Riyan Parag—Parag, who starred last season with the bat for Rajasthan Royals as he was the highest run-scorer for the Royals, will look to gain back his momentum in the match on his home ground. Parag has immense experience playing at the Barsapara Stadium and will mark this as a crucial game to bounce back to form.
RR vs KKR: Key Player Battles
Sunil Narine vs. Maheesh Theekshana
The big-hitting opener for KKR has often relished such tracks, which do favor batting to an extent, though Sunil Narine often faces some trouble handling spin early on in the powerplay. Theekshana would have this opportunity, and he needs to seize it, as once this opportunity is missed, Narine gives it back to the spinners once he is set.
Sanju Samson vs. Harshit Rana
Samson and his form redefined T20 cricket, and so did Harshit Rana since he made his debut for India across a limited-overs format. Samson and Rana’s battle will be the most crucial for either team, as the winner of this battle might take the game away from their opponent.
Riyan Parag vs. Sunil Narine
The stand-in skipper, Riyan Parag, will relish his home-ground advantage at the Guwahati cricket stadium, as Parag will look to gain momentum while Sunil Narine would now be on a roll with the ball, and sighting his variations, Parag seems inexperienced against the veteran spinner.
Shimron Hetmyer vs. Varun Chakravarthy
The big hitter from the West Indies has been retained by RR’s new management as well, which gives an insight into how crucial a player he is, as the big hitter might be troubled by Varun Chakravarthy, the spinner with sheer form in the shortest format.
Ajinkya Rahane vs. Tushar Deshpande
Rahane, the RR veteran but newly announced skipper of the Kolkata Knight Riders, showed some great form in the middle order. Rahane has been at his explosive best and excels against pace bowling as well as spin, and with Tushar Deshpande and Sandeep Sharma being the two bowlers with genuine slower ball variations, they can be an asset to dismiss the KKR captain, as Rahane favors pace on the ball.
ALSO READ: IPL 2025 Royals vs Knight Riders Head-to-Head record, Rivalry, Best Players, Most runs, Most wickets, and more
