IPL 2012 Live: Rajasthan Royals v Kolkata Knight Riders Preview

Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders will play their second game in the fifth edition of the Indian Premier League when they go head to head in a match hosted by the Royals at Jaipur.

Rajasthan Royals won their first game of the campaign with ease as they defeated Kings XI Punjab by 31 runs. The game saw a Man of the match display from Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 98 runs to help his team reach a score of 191 while batting first. Skipper Rahul Dravid also made a contribution with the bat.

The Royals, led by retired Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid, have made a strong start to their IPL campaign this season which was quite unexpected after the experienced spinner Shane Warne decided to stop playing for them from this season.

On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders failed to register a win in their first game against the Delhi Daredevils. It was surprising that a strong batting line-up consisting of players like Brendon McCullum, skipper Gautam Gambhir, Jacques Kallis and Yusuf Pathan managed just a meagre total of 97. The thing which showed KKR’s weaknesses was the fact that they were all out in just 12 overs.

If KKR are to prevent the Royals from setting up a big score, then they would definitely need a good performance from their strike bowler Brett Lee. And Yusuf Pathan, who was out for a duck against Delhi, will have to produce a good batting performance if Kolkata are to cause any trouble to Rahul Dravid’s men.

After the results of round one, Rajasthan will enter the match as favourites over the vulnerable Knight Riders. Rahane’s solid batting, an all-round performance of Kevon Cooper and good captaincy from Dravid will give the hosts the upper hand.