The State of Play
Mitchell Starc, the most expensive player in IPL history, sparkled on his last appearance for the Kolkata Knight Riders and that could spell bad news for the Rajasthan Royals in their top of the table clash tomorrow.
Starc had looked a costly flop in the early matches but took three for 28 on Sunday as the Knight Riders crushed the Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets at Eden Gardens.
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The Australia left-armer explained afterwards that his re-acclimatisation to the shortest form of the game had taken longer than he would have liked but he is starting to find form.
“It’s T20 cricket; for the guys who have played a lot of Test cricket, this is definitely a lot easier physically,” he said.
“It’s more [about] getting used to the tactical side of it. I haven’t played a lot of T20 cricket in the last couple of years, so it has probably taken me a little bit longer than I would have liked to get back into the rhythm of things and make a better impact. So today was nice in that regard.”
If Starc can repeat that performance it could have a significant impact against a Royals side that squeezed past the Punjab Kings at the weekend.
Shorn of the injured Jos Buttler – his availability is unknown for tomorrow – they looked a little lightweight at the top of the order particularly against the Kings’ Kagiso Rabada.
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In the end it was left to Shimron Hetmyer to hit a 10-ball 27 not out to get them over the line and improve their record to an IPL-best five wins from six games.
The Knight Riders are second with four wins from five with their only blemish coming last week against the Chennai Super Kings. The clash with the Royals is their second of five successive home matches at Eden Gardens where the heat and humidity can be stifling.
Expected line-ups
Kolkata Knight Riders: Salt (wk), Narine, Raghuvanshi, S Iyer (c), V Iyer, Russell, Ram Singh, Starc, Arora, Rana, Rin Singh
Rajasthan Royals: Jaiswal, Kotian, Samson (c, wk), Parag, Jurel, Hetmeyr, Powell, Maharaj, Boult, Khan, Chahal
Salt’s 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹osophy: Let the bat do the talking 🏅 pic.twitter.com/Tywvh0vISJ
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 15, 2024
How to Watch
Sky have the rights to show the IPL to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live. Tuesday’s match will be shown on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.50pm BST.
In India, the games can be streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website. They are also available across the Star Sports Network.
🔥 Mad-hitters. Match winners. 💗 pic.twitter.com/2BRo87Yd3p
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 15, 2024
Prediction
Undoubtedly, a tough one to call. As demonstrated again in their last game, the Royals keep finding a way. That’s fine but it’s not necessarily the recipe for long-term success.
If Starc has indeed found his groove then he could be the matchwinner, especially if he’s backed up the miserly bowling of Sunil Narine in the middle overs.
The home side will still need to bat well, though, and will be looking to skipper Shreyas Iyer, whose top score so far in IPL 2024 is 39, to make a sizeable contribution.
We’re going for the Knight Riders to edge what should be a pulsating encounter and make it five wins from six.
