IPL 2024: IPL 2024: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals Best Bets

Tuesday’s IPL action will see Kolkata Knight Riders take on Rajasthan Royals at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. This will be a top-of-the-table clash, with just two points separating these sides at the top of the table. We’ve prepared the best bets for Match 31 of IPL 2024.

Venue: Eden Gardens.

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Kolkata have equalled their 2023 home win tally early this season with victories over Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants. Heading into their rematch against Rajasthan, who handed them a nine-wicket defeat last season by limiting them to 149—Kolkata boasts the highest run rate in the league at 10.43 RPO in 2024, suggesting they’ll easily surpass 150 runs, especially given Eden Gardens’ recent average first innings score of 191.

Their best performance this season featured stellar bowling from Mitchell Starc and Sunil Narine, who didn’t allow a boundary in his spell, and Varun Chakravarthy who was equally tough in the middle overs. With Phil Salt’s impressive scores at Eden Gardens, there’s growing sentiment that the venue is returning to its fortress-like status.

However, Rajasthan, with wins in their last two visits to Eden Gardens and a strong start away from home this season (victories in Mumbai and Punjab), pose a significant challenge. They boast the league’s best economy rate at 8.33 RPO and have conceded the fewest sixes per inning, potentially countering Kolkata’s high-scoring approach.

Rovman Powell noted that opener Jos Buttler, despite a slow start in 2024, is expected back for this match following his recovery, suggesting he might sit out despite his positive outlook. Meanwhile, there’s uncertainty around Ravichandran Ashwin’s return from a niggle, though his absence hasn’t critically impacted the team given his modest contributions this season.

These are two very different teams but are very similar in how innovative they can be in tactical terms. This is going to be a closely contested contest but for the first time this season, we’re going for the underdogs.

Prediction: Rajasthan Royals to win at 2.05.

Players to Watch: Ashwin’s struggles have been masked by the outstanding performances of his fellow spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who continues to make sure selectors hear his case for an unlikely inclusion in India’s T20 World Cup squad. Chahal is yet to go wicketless in IPL 2024, totalling 11 at an excellent economy rate of 7.4 runs per over. 

It’s no shock that Sunil Narine is the all-time leading wicket-taker at Eden Gardens given the volume of cricket he has played, but he has also enjoyed a resurgence after a 2023 campaign that made him look nothing short of washed up. Narine is averaging 133 with the bat during the powerplay overs at a rate of 11 runs per over, whilst with the ball he has claimed exactly one wicket in each of his bowling innings.

Key Stats

Rajasthan have a winless 0/7 record at Eden Gardens when they bat first.

The pre-match favourite won eight of the 11 games involving either franchise this year.

Shreyas Iyer has a T20 average of 89.5 (179/2) against the five bowlers Rajasthan used in their previous match.

Yashasvi Jaiswal has never been dismissed by any of the six bowlers Kolkata used in their last game, scoring 51 runs from 33 balls, whilst Sanju Samson averages 27 at a strike rate of just 107.

In two games at Eden Gardens, so far this season, Sunil Narine has an economy rate of 4.50 across eight overs and hasn’t conceded a single boundary. The other spinners in those games have gone for a combined 10.01 per over.

Varun Chakravarthy took multiple wickets in only one of his first five games of IPL 2024 (3-33 v Delhi in Vizag).

Yuzvendra Chahal has bowling averages of 87 and 81 against Shreyas Iyer and Andre Russell respectively.

Shimron Hetmyer scores at nearly 13 runs per over off the bowling of compatriot Russell (2-76 from 36 balls).

Best Bets

Best Bet: Y Chahal to take more wickets than V Chakravarthy at 1.80.

Alternative Bet: Y Chahal to be Rajasthan Royals’ top bowler at 2.85

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