Kolkata Knight Riders have emerged as the team-to-beat in the Indian Premier League 10 and they totally deserve that status. On the other hand, Rising Pune Supergiant have looked scratchy and hit form in patches but they still stand a chance of making the cut. But as they take on KKR today, we give you five reasons why a win for RPS is out of reach:
Back at home territory: No other team feels more comfortable playing at home than KKR. They feel the crowd playing as their 12th man and that has also been the case with team India when they played at the Eden Gardens. They even defended 131 this season and they would feel very much at home playing at the Eden.
Seam and swing: Surprisingly, Eden Gardens, which historically offers spin and has proved to be a spinners paradise, has proved helpful for the pacers as welllike we saw the pacers of KKR rattling a famed RCB line up for a paltry 49. They say fast bowlers hunt in pairs, KKR has two pairs if required.
MSD never clicking against KKR: Gambhir, it seems, has formulated a strategy to get rid of MSD early. He employs a close-ringed field, which surprisingly gets the better of MSD time and again. Even in the last game at Pune, MSD was foxed by Kuldeep Yadav as he could not read him off the hand and the pitch. If MSD cannot click it will not be easy for RPS to cross the line.
IT’S MATCH DAY!#Supergiants make your way to the Eden Gardens as we play @kkriders away at 8 pm tonight!#RangWahiJungNayi #IPL #KKRvRPS pic.twitter.com/GM76fjcHuA
— RisingPuneSupergiant (@RPSupergiants) May 3, 2017
History backs KKR: RPS have never beaten KKR in the last 3 attempts, so for them, this match is mighty important as they will be in the quest to break that myth as well. In the last match against them in Pune, it was Robin who smashed them all over the park to hand KKR victory. This factor will surely be in the mind of Steven Smith.
Rahane not clicking: One of RPS’ biggest player is Ajinkya Rahane, and him coming good eases the pressure and burden off the others. But he has not been in good touch this season and not got a score of substance this time round and that will be a big setback for them before they take on KKR.
