Kolkata Knight Riders will be the clear favourites when they face an inconsistent Rajasthan Royals at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, on Wednesday.
The home advantage will be a big plus for the Knight Riders in the IPl Eliminator. The losing team will be knocked out, while the winners will not directly qualify to the final as they will have to play the losing team of the first play-off in a virtual semifinal contest.
Rajasthan looked down and out of play-off contention after losing to Kings XI Punjab earlier this month. But, they managed to put together a winning streak, beating four of their next five opponents.
However, the departure of their big name signings Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes would have left a massive hole to fill in the camp. Buttler will be missed more after amassing 548 runs in the 13 matches he played this season and has been with a doubt their player of the tournament.
Hence, the team would expect the likes of Sanju Samson and in-form opener Rahul Tripathi to step up and make up for his loss. The lean spell of skipper Rahane (324 runs at 27.00) will be a big concern for Rajasthan. He will be keen to end his poor scoring run, by leading the team from front against the home side on Wednesday.
Rahane can take a cue from his counterpart Dinesh Karthik's terrific form this season. With and without the bat, he has been sensational for KKR.
Aside from leading the side in a brilliant fashion in his maiden stint as skipper, he got himself the name of finisher with six unbeaten knocks this season. Karthik has been KKR's top run scorer with 438 runs at an average of 54.78 (strike rate 149.48).
Other than him, Sunil Narine has once again proved to be KKR's most valuable player. He has been sensational with the bat as an opener and his incredible bowling.
South African wicketkeeper-batsman Heinrich Klaasen and Chris lynn will look to add more power to their batting unit.
Apart from Narine, other spinners Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav have also been sensational. Pacer Prasidh Krishna would like to carry on from his impressive 4/30 against Hyderabad in their last match.
The maiden IPl champions Rajasthan have to get their act together and have to perform in unison on Wednesday if they want to prolong their stay in the play-offs.