Sports Corner

KKR are the best team at the moment, they are already at No. 1, and I feel they will beat Rajasthan as well

TVL
TVL


Aakash Chopra has claimed that the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the best team in IPL 2024. He reckons the two-time champions will beat the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their final league game in Guwahati on Sunday (May 19) and get the better of Sanju Samson and company again if they face them in Qualifier 1.

With 19 points from 13 games, KKR are assured of a top-of-the-table finish after the league phase of IPL 2024. They will face either RR or the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 1 in Ahmedabad on Tuesday (May 21) depending on the results of Sunday’s two games.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that the Kolkata Knight Riders have a virtually perfect side and predicted that they would continue their dominant run.

“Very difficult to find faults in this team. All things are working almost perfectly. A dream season is unfolding in front of us. If I tell the truth, KKR are the best team at the moment, they are already at No. 1, and I feel they will beat Rajasthan as well, here also and even in Qualifier 1 as well if they meet them there,” he said (8:45).

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The former India opener noted that the in-form Phil Salt being potentially replaced by Rahmanullah Gurbaz could be the only concern for KKR.

“Kolkata will play Rahmanullah Gurbaz for sure, it’s obvious, and that’s the only thing they need to correct. Since Phil Salt has left, will they miss him a lot? Maybe yes, maybe not, but Rahmanullah is a brilliant player. So from Kolkata’s viewpoint, he should score runs,” Chopra observed.

Salt, who smashed 435 runs at a strike rate of 182.00 in 12 innings, has returned to England for their upcoming T20I series against Pakistan. Gurbaz will likely be Sunil Narine’s opening partner in Sunday’s game.

“It has been a slightly cold season for him” – Aakash Chopra on KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has aggregated 287 runs at a strike rate of 135.37 in 12 innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]Shreyas Iyer has aggregated 287 runs at a strike rate of 135.37 in 12 innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]
Shreyas Iyer has aggregated 287 runs at a strike rate of 135.37 in 12 innings in IPL 2024. [P/C: iplt20.com]

While expecting Sunil Narine to fire with both bat and ball in Guwahati, Aakash Chopra added that Shreyas Iyer will want to perform better.

“Sunil Narine’s batting and bowling can both work very well on this pitch because, strangely enough, dew is not coming. I don’t know how but dew wasn’t there. Shreyas Iyer hasn’t scored those many runs thus far. It has been a slightly cold season for him, so he would want to score runs,” he said.

The renowned commentator noted that Rinku Singh is the only KKR middle-order batter yet to play a substantial knock.

“Venkatesh Iyer is playing well. If we go down the order, (Andre) Russell is playing very well but Rinku Singh hasn’t scored that many runs. So he should score runs and Ramandeep Singh plays well in any case. Nitish Rana also played well in the last match,” Chopra elaborated.

Chopra pointed out that KKR have a formidable bowling attack in Harshit Rana, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine, with Vaibhav Arora likely to play as an additional seamer in Guwahati. He added that Andre Russell has also been bowling very well for the visitors.