IPL 2022: KKR win toss, opt to field against RR

In the 30th match of IPL 2022, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and decided to field first against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai on Monday. Iyer considered the lopsided boundary to take the decision as chasing will be easy on this pitch.

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KKR, who lost their last two matches against Delhi Capitals and SunRisers Hyderabad, made one change in their XI, introducing pace bowler Shivam Mavi in place of Aman Khan.

RR, who are playing their first match at the Brabourne Stadium, made three changes. In a big boost to the Jaipur side, Trent Boult is fit and back in the XI, Obed McCoy made his debut, and Karun Nair is in. James Neesham, Kuldeep Sen and Rassie van der Dussen were dropped.

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On this day, 15 seasons ago, the Indian Premier League started to change the dimension of Indian cricket. KKR defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 140 runs in the opening game of the season. Brendon McCullum, incumbent KKR coach, had hit 158 to set the tone of the T20 league forever. 

Sunil Narine, meanwhile, is playing his 150th IPl game today. He received a special jersey with 150 on it from McCullum. 

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What did the captains say? 

Shreyas Iyer: We’ll bowl first. The wicket looks amazing and hard. One side seems short and one is long, so that’s another reason why we want to chase. It’s something we thrive on. We just practise a lot in the nets, we’ve seen the videos and have had chats in the meetings. Important to execute what we’ve discussed in the meetings. We’ve got one change – Shivam Mavi comes in for Aman Khan. They (overseas stars) have been excellent for KKR in recent years, it’s gonna be important for us that they perform but also the domestic players need to step up.

Sanju Samson: We would have also liked to bowl first, but need to be ready to do both. Our team is well set to do both. New venue for us, and we need to understand conditions quickly. Everyone has to contribute to whatever is the team’s requirement, the talk is always about understanding the situation and being smarter. Everyone is looking to contribute, but failures are accepted. We’re looking forward with a positive mindset. Three changes – Karun Nair, Obed McCoy and Trent Boult come in; Rassie, Kuldeep and Neesham are out.

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Pitch report: It is a batting paradise. It could be a high scoring game. Bowlers will hope that there’ll be now dew. The ground has a square boundary long at 79m while the other is short at 66m, with huge pockets at either end as well. 

Playing XI

Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Aaron Finch, Shreyas Iyer(c), Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson(w), Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Karun Nair, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Obed McCoy, Yuzvendra Chahal