RR vs KKR IPL 2019 preview: Can pumped up Rajasthan withstand Russell storm?

Andre Russell is all over IPL 2019. Three man of the match awards in four games, three innings that can well be termed as ‘once in a life-time knocks’ and Russell has become the face of KKR.

And hence on April 07, although Rajasthan face a KKR team that includes big guns like Narine, Lynn, Karthik and Kuldeep, the focus will be on Russell. On the other side, KKR will be wary of the fact that RR have the ability to punch above their weight and thus Jaipur should see an enthralling battle.

Eden Gardens – Cleared ✅
Ferozshah Kotla – Cleared ✅
M. Chinnaswamy – Cleared ✅
Next up – Sawai Mansingh Stadium ? #RCBvKKR #KKRHaiTaiyaar @Russell12A pic.twitter.com/xxey6PYwT0

— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 6, 2019

Venue:

The Jaipur pitch has offered something for the bowlers as well as the batsmen this season. Four innings have produced 20 wickets but batsmen have managed to score big knocks cue Jos Buttler.

Form guide:

After three straight loses RR finally opened their account by beating RCB in the last game. Jos Buttler remains a strong force while Rahane, Stokes, Tripathi and Smith have had their moments.

The bowling can be a cause of worry as consistency is lacking in their pace department.

24 overs, 7 wickets and an economy rate of 6.5! Our spin duo has been on a roll!

How many wickets will @ShreyasGopal19 and @gowthamyadav88 claim this season? #HallaBol pic.twitter.com/uuLJlQi0Oe

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 6, 2019

KKR on the other side are riding on Russell’s jaw-dropping form. Kuldeep has proved that he can bowl in death overs too but that doesn’t hide the cracks that exist in their pace bowling unit.

Key numbers:

• In head to head battle KKR and RR have won nine times each while at Jaipur, RR have won thrice in five matches.

• Rahul Tripathi has got just 74 runs in Indian Premier League season 12 but he has made them at a strike rate of 145.09 which is higher than his career strike rate.

And against KKR his numbers get better. He has a strike rate of 242.90 against Kuldeep Yadav and 166.66 against Narine while against Prasidh Krishna it rises to 285.70.

Also read: RR vs KKR top three fantasy players

Players in focus:

With all attention on Russell, Nitish Rana is doing his job efficiently. He has 169 runs in four innings and averages 42.25. Importantly in middle overs (7 to 16) he has the most runs in IPL season 12 (126) and has strike rate of 170, the second-highest among all batsmen in IPL 2019.

Also read: RR vs RCB: Match prediction

Jos Buttler has seven fifties in his last ten IPL games and four on a trot at Jaipur. Needless to say he is the ace weapon for RR in this contest.