In a do-or-die IPl match, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Rajasthan Royals as the race for the play-offs hots up at the Brabourne Stadium.
Knight Riders, who lost a crucial game against Mumbai Indians, on Thursday night, are in a must-win situation in their final league match to seal a final-four spot.
The Gautam Gambhir-led side failed to score 12 runs off the final over, which would have ensured their play-off entry. Now it will be a huge task for KKR to dust off that disappointment and take on the might of Royals, who also need a win in their last league match.
While KKR have 15 points from 13 matches, Royals have one point less and in the crucial contest the team that keeps its nerves will invariably go through to the last four. Knight Riders seemed to have things well under control in their previous game till the last five overs of the MI innings, when their bowlers conceded a whopping 72 runs.
The death bowling is one key area the team needs to improve on, conceded Shakib Al Hasan.
KKR batsmen let off good starts against MI to leave things late and in the end even Yusuf Pathan’s well-made 52 was not enough.
One of the bright spots in Thursday’s loss was the way big-hitting Yusuf batted in his 31-ball knock. Though he fell in the last over, he showed a welcome trend of biding his time before unleashing the big shots.
KKR have a potent pace attack led by Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel and have the option of shackling the free-scoring Royals batting line-up in which Ajinkya Rahane holds the key with their tight spin bowling duo of Shakib and Sunil Narine.
Royals have had an up and down run, after a glorious opening phase of five wins on the trot, followed by a super over loss to Kings XI and two rained-out games.
Successive losses to SRH and against CSK five days ago have kept them on the edge.
It will be imperative that they regain their focus if they have to topple a strong outfit like KKR in a make-or-break situation.