1. Teams News - Rajasthan Royals
The Royals can certainly look forward to their batting at the Dubai International Stadium. Their talismanic England all-rounder Ben Stokes has won a Man-of-the-Match award, having made a breezy half century after picking up two wickets, in the team's win over Kings XI Punjab. Sanju Samson rediscovering his touch must have also gladdened the hearts of the RR team management.
Skipper Smith can play according to the situation and opener Robin Uthappa can put any attack to the sword on his day. No opposition takes Jos Buttler lightly and then there is Rahul Tewatia and young Riyan Parag down the order, beefing up RR's batting. Jofra Archer has been the standout performer with the ball and he will again shoulder RR's responsibility in bowling.
2. Team News - Kolkata Knight Riders
While they have as many points as RR and KXIP, KKR's road to the playoffs looks the toughest, thanks to their abysmal net run rate. Their only chance of qualification is if they beat Royals and finish on 14 points, with none of the other contenders reaching that tally.
That seems improbable, the last two successive losses badly hurting their prospects. Nevertheless, the likes of Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, captain Eoin Morgan in batting and Varun Chakravarthy, Pat Cummins and Kamlesh Nagarkoti with ball would like to give it their all.
3. Playing 11
Rajasthan Royals: Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Aaron.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy.
4. Dream 11
Ben Stokes, Nitish Rana, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Jos Buttler, Rahul Tripathi, Shreyas Gopal, Jofra Archer, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
5. Head to Head
Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals have squared off 22 times and the former hold a slight 11-10 lead. One match was abandoned.
6. Match details
Date: November 1
Time: 7.30 PM IST
Live telecast: Star Sports Networks
Live streaming: Disney + Hotstar VIP