3 player battles to watch out for in KKR vs RR, Match 53 of IPL 2025 ft. Yashasvi Jaiswal

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will square off against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 53rd match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at Eden Gardens on Sunday, May 4. It is a must-win game for the home side if they wish to keep themselves afloat in the playoff race.

KKR are seventh in the standings with nine points from 10 games, including four wins and five defeats. The defending champions secured a vital win against the Delhi Capitals in their previous outing and will look to continue the momentum.

RR, on the other hand, have already been eliminated from IPL 2025. They have had a horrid campaign this year, managing just three wins in 11 games. However, they will look to spoil KKR's party with a win tonight.

Both sides have quality players in their ranks, who can turn the game on its head single-handedly. On that note, let's look at three interesting player battles to watch out for from the match between KKR and RR.

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#1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz vs Maheesh Theekshana

KKR drafted Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the playing XI in place of Quinton de Kock, who struggled with his form. However, the Afghan wicketkeeper-batter is yet to fire in IPL 2025, scoring only 28 runs in three innings.

However, Gurbaz enjoys a stellar record against one of RR's powerplay operators - Maheesh Theekshana. The right-handed batter has scored 59 runs in 35 deliveries. The Sri Lankan spinner also enjoys a good record against Gurbaz, dismissing him four times.

Thus, a cracking contest beckons fans in Kolkata tonight with both players trying to outsmart each other.

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#2 Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Harshit Rana

The Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Harshit Rana duel might decide the contest's outcome. Both players have been in superb form of late, and it will be interesting to see both going at each other.

Jaiswal has scored three half-centuries and a 49 in his last five matches, and he will be raring to go against KKR again. On the other hand, Harshit has picked up 11 wickets in IPL 2025 and will aim to add more to his tally.

The RR opener also enjoys a good record against Harshit, scoring 19 runs off nine deliveries. The KKR seamer is yet to dismiss Jaiswal and will bowl his heart out to keep the young left-handed batter in check tonight.

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#3 Nitish Rana vs Varun Chakravarthy

The RR will be keen to fire against his former side tonight. Nitish Rana has looked like a force to be reckoned with in IPL 2025 and will look to continue the momentum.

However, the southpaw will be challenged by Varun Chakravarthy, who has seen Rana go about his business from close quarters during their time together at the Knight Riders. Chakravarthy also enjoys a good record against Rana, conceding only two runs in eight deliveries and dismissing him once.

These two players facing each other in the middle phase of the game might very well decide the result of the fixture.