Quinton de Kock's spot in danger; Wanindu Hasaranga to be picked to counter Sunil Narine: RR vs KKR likely XIs
RR host KKR in Guwahati in what is a huge moment for their stand-in captain Riyan Parag and both sides are looking for their first win.
We are done with the first round of matches in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Rajasthan Royals face Kolkata Knight Riders to begin the next one. RR are hosting this match in Guwahati, a ground where they have played matches with mixed results in the past but it will be a special moment this time as they are being captained by local hero Riyan Parag.
Both RR and KKR were given rude awakening calls in their opening matches. KKR were thrashed by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the opening game of the season, while RR conceded the second-highest IPL score of all time to Sunrisers Hyderabad the next day. The positive for both sides is that their batting showed enough sparks to keep fears in that department at bay.
In fact, it would be a surprise if there are any wholesale changes in both sides considering this is only their second match of the season. However, it won't be a surprise if RR decide to play Wanindu Hasaranga in place of his Sri Lanka teammate Maheesh Theekshana just to ensure that Sunil Narine doesn't stick around for too long in the powerplay.
Jofra Archer may have broken a dubious record for worst expensive figures in an IPL match but RR are likely to persist with him. At the same time, they might be tempted to bring in Akash Madhwal due to his ability with bowling yorkers.
KKR are likely to keep Anrich Nortje out and play Spencer Johnson ahead of him. What they would really be hoping would be that the parts of the batting unit that didn't work, which basically means anyone apart from captain Rahane and Narine, fire in Guwahati and get some runs under their belt.
There will especially be pressure on Quinton de Kock, who has been played as KKR's first-choice opener and wicketkeeper ahead of the belligerent Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The Afghan was the highest run-scorer at the T20 World Cup, was named opener in the ICC's ODI team of the year, and was integral to KKR winning the title last season as Phil Salt's replacement.
RR likely XI and impact player: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson , Riyan Parag(c), Nitish Rana, Dhruv Jurel(wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi
KKR likely XI and impact player: Quinton de Kock (w), Sunil Narine, Ajinkya Rahane (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Spencer Johnson/Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora
