KKR vs RPS Match Prediction: Who will win the match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rising Pune Supergiants, IPL 2016, Match 45

The 45th match of the VIVO IPL 2016 will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata and it will witness home side Kolkata Knight Riders take on Rising Pune Supergiants. It has been quite a successful campaign for KKR so far in the ongoing IPL season as they have won 6 out of their 10 matches to be placed at 4th position in the points table. RPS, however, have had a torrid debut season and will not be able to qualify for the playoffs even if they win their remaining matches in the tournament.

Kolkata have been among the better sides in this year's IPL and have excelled with both bat and ball. However, they have faced some problems in matches where they have batted first as 3 out of their 4 losses this season have come when they have set a target for the opposition.

While the Pune side have surely played some average cricket in their debut IPL, they have also been unfortunate to lose out on key players due to injury. The likes of Kevin Pietersen, Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis and Mitchell Marsh had to depart mid-season and this hampered the progress of MS Dhoni's team.

It will be a highly important match for KKR as they will look to move closer to a berth in the playoffs with a win. RPS, on the other hand, have only pride to play for and they will try to push the two-time champions to the hilt.

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Match date: 14 May 2016

Match timings: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT

If Kolkata Knight Riders bat first

Predicted score: 165 and above

The KKR batting line-up has done an excellent job in the 9th edition of the IPL with openers Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa leading the way for them. Apart from the duo, middle-order batsman Yusuf Pathan has played a good hand for his team with a couple of hard-hitting knocks and also some useful runs in the last few overs.

All-rounder Shakib Al Hasan had been struggling in the early stages of the tournament but he returned to form with an unbeaten 66 against Gujarat Lions. Suryakumar Yadav and Manish Pandey have also been in decent nick whereas Andre Russell has played some quickfire cameos in the lower middle-order.

Russell has been Kolkata's most successful bowler in the 2016 IPL with 14 wickets and he is currently among the top wicket-takers in the tournament. Pacer Umesh Yadav has also bowled quite well and claimed 10 wickets in the 9 matches that he has played. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has also been among the wickets and already has 9 in his kitty.

Morne Morkel and Sunil Narine have also bowled quite decently and so have Brad Hogg and Shakib. The most striking thing about the KKR bowling so far has been the fact that skipper Gambhir has multiple options to fall back on and he can pick his bowlers as per the pitch conditions.

If Rising Pune Supergiants bat first

Predicted score: 160 and above

The RPS batting has mainly been dependent on their in-form opener Ajinkya Rahane who has performed exceedingly well in the 2016 IPL and has been their leading run-scorer. The Indian Test batsman has scored as many as 6 half-centuries in the season. Among other batsmen, skipper MS Dhoni has looked in decent touch and Saurabh Tiwary has also been among the runs.

All-rounder Thisara Perera has scored some brisk runs towards the end of the innings and boasts of a strike rate of just under 168. Replacement players Usman Khawaja and George Bailey have played 3 matches so far in the tournament but have not been able to create an impression so far.

As far as their bowling is concerned, young Australian leg-spinner Adam Zampa has already become their leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets in just 2 matches including a spell of 6 for 19 in a losing cause against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Perera, too, has claimed 8 wickets whereas pace bowler Ashok Dinda has 7 wickets from his 6 matches.

Leg-spinner Murugan Ashwin had created an impression in his first few matches but has not been able to perform consistently. Ravichandran Ashwin, meanwhile, has not picked too many wickets but has been quite economical for his team. The bowling has been decent for the Supergiants but they have failed to produce match-winning performances.

Probable Winners: Kolkata Knight Riders