Ashwin Returns from Injury as Rajasthan Royals Choose to Bowl Against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2024

Kolkata Knight Riders/Rajasthan Royals won the toss and elected to bat/bowl first against Rajasthan Royals/Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 31 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Eden Gardens. Rajasthan Royals brought back Ravichandran Ashwin in playing XI while Jos Buttler was among the substitutes.

Both captains expressed their strategies at the toss, with Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson choosing to bowl first, citing better batting conditions in the second innings. Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Shreyas Iyer also preferred to bowl first if he had won the toss. The match was a much-anticipated top-of-the-table clash between two teams ranked No.1 and 2 in the points table.

The history of matches between Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals show a close competition, with Kolkata Knight Riders winning 14 and Rajasthan Royals winning 13 out of 27 matches played between the two teams. The playing XIs for both teams included key players, with Impact Substitutes listed as well for additional flexibility.

Rajasthan Royals playing XI featured Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rovman Powell, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, and Yuzvendra Chahal. Impact Substitutes included Jos Buttler, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey, Navdeep Saini, and Nandre Burger. Kolkata Knight Riders playing XI included Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakravarthy, and Harshit Rana.

The match promised an exciting showdown between two strong teams, with fans eagerly waiting to see how the match unfolded at the Eden Gardens.