Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders would strive for a handsome win over struggling Rajasthan Royals in their last round-robin game to stay ahead in the IPL play-offs race in Sharjah on Thursday.
With eight points from 11 games, RR are placed second from bottom in the eight-team table and a loss on Saturday will end their slim chances of qualifying for the knockout stage.
KKR have so far failed to come together as a unit and slipped to sixth in the table after starting the tournament on a high against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
On the other hand, the Royals have managed to win only one of their three fixtures. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in their previous match to slip down to the sixth spot. Sanju Samson and his men will be eyeing a second win.
Rajasthan Royals head coach Andrew McDonald says the franchise is "not sure" about the availability of star all-rounder Ben Stokes in the upcoming IPL as he is tending to his ailing father in New Zealand.
RR will have to get their combination right as only four foreigners can make the playing XI.
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
IMAGES from the IPL match played between Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore
The best-case scenario for RR would be Kings XI Punjab losing their last match and Sunrisers Hyderabad winning no more than one in their last two outings.
It has been a dramatic turnaround for the KL Rahul-led side after a string a losses earlier in the tournament.
RR have a lot of issues to sort out, particularly in the absence of key foreign players like Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes.
MI are coming into the match after suffering back-to-back losses
Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals have failed to live up to expectations in the IPL so far and are placed sixth and seventh respectively on the points table in the eight-team competition.
Three-time champion Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals would look to build on their first wins and gain momentum when they clash in the Indian Premier League in Mumbai on Monday.
While DC made a superb start under new captain Rishabh Pant, RR suffered a four-run defeat against Punjab Kings
Ravindra Jadeja, who was ignored for the ODI series against New Zealand, made a statement with an unbeaten 150 for Saurashtra on the first day of their Group B match against Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy.
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
Mohammed Azharuddeen slammed a 37-ball century to power Kerala to an emphatic eight-wicket victory against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Table-toppers Mumbai Indians are on course to make it to the play-offs but the game is crucial for Rajasthan, who are languishing in seventh place. Defeat would mean a step closer to elimination.
The Virat Kohli-led RCB has won five of its eight games on the back of all-round performances but seemingly blundered in the eight-wicket defeat to laggards KXIP on Thursday.
Bolstered by the arrival of Ben Stokes, Rajasthan Royals will hope for a better showing from its misfiring top order as they try to settle scores against second-placed Delhi Capitals in their return leg IPL match, in Dubai, on Wednesday.
Rajasthan Royals, struggling at the penultimate spot on the points table after two wins and four straight defeats, need something special against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Sunday's IPL match in Dubai.
Rajasthan will take inspiration from their two big wins in Sharjah, to turn things around against a dominant Delhi.
Rajasthan Royals may need to rejig their Indian line-up slightly when they try to pull their IPL campaign out of the current rot against a supremely confident Mumbai Indians,
A summary of Ranji matches played on Wednesday.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
A summary of all the action from Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Tuesday.
While SRH can't afford to slip up even one bit with five games remaining, RR would be hoping to continue the winning momentum and hope that their foreign recruits continue in good nick like they did in the match against CSK.
Vaibhav Rawal scored a fine century before pacer Divij Mehra's dismantled Mumbai with a five-wicket haul to power Delhi to an emphatic eight-wicket victory in the Ranji Trophy Group B match.
Standing at 6ft 1inch, the 18 year old Arjun is a left arm fast bowler and a handy lower middle order batsman.
Both KXIP and the Royals would look to build a winning momentum after starting the tournament as underdogs.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy limited-overs' tournament.
A summary of action from the Ranji Trophy matches played on Tuesday.
Will request Bedi to withdraw his demand of removing his name from a stand: DDCA Prez
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals, in Sharjah, on Thursday.
Dhapola's feat did not miss the attention of the BCCI secretary Jay Shah who termed it as one of the finest bowling performances of the tournament.
A depleted Rajasthan Royals will have an onerous task of stopping the mighty CSK
For MP, Saransh Jain, Kumar Kartikeya and Anubhav Agarwal also took two wickets apiece. MP got seven points from the win. The outright-winning team gets six points while a victory of an innings or 10-wickets fetches seven points.
A round-up of the first day's play in the Ranji Trophy matches across the country, on Tuesday.
Royals' new Director of Cricket Kumar Sangakkara is confident that the team's young Indian fast bowlers will rise to the challenge in this year's Indian Premier League.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances