We have reached the crunch end of the Indian Premier League as the final table is starting to take a shape. Rajasthan Royals has only just beaten the Mumbai Indians and now have a real chance to reach the top four. Kolkata, meanwhile, also won their previous game and could consolidate their top four hopes by a win here.

Kolkata Knight Riders

The Knight Riders have been as erratic as it could get. They win one game and then lose the other. While this might be a similar pattern to most of the teams in the Indian Premier League this season, KKR have done it more often than not.

Prasidh Krishna has shown great signs of becoming a consistent bowler for them. Andre Russell’s bowling form has been good as well. Their only concern is the fitness of the players, apart from which they seem alright.

Predicted XI: Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Tom Curran, Piyush Chawla, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav

Rajasthan Royals

Jos Buttler has been in sensational form ever since he has taken up the mantle to open the innings. He has scored five half-centuries in a row – equaling Virender Sehwag’s record in the Indian Premier League – and has, somewhat, single-handedly brought Rajasthan to where they are now.

In the bowling, Jofra Archer has been phenomenal. The other two foreigners haven’t been up to par but one can never count Ben Stokes out of the equation since he also has the capability to win games all by himself.

Predicted XI: Ajinkya Rahane, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lomror, Stuart Binny, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Ish Sodhi, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni

Prediction