The Rajasthan Royals (RR) are set to take on the hosts Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match No. 28 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 at Eden Gardens on Sunday, April 18. The Knights continue to look for their maiden victory in the ongoing marquee tournament. They are the sole team without a victory in this year’s tournament, having lost five of the six matches they have participated in. One of their games concluded with no outcome because of rain. They are entering this match following a five-wicket loss to the Gujarat Titans.
Conversely, the Rajasthan Royals will aim to get back to winning form after experiencing their initial loss of the season in the previous match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Riyan Parag and Team are currently ranked No. 3 in the standings, with four victories and one defeat to date.
KKR vs RR: Eden Gardens, Kolkata Pitch Report
Eden Gardens has frequently favoured teams chasing in the shortest format. There is adequate bounce and good carry to the wicketkeeper. In the two finished matches at the famous location in IPL 2026, the typical score for the first innings was approximately 204. The captain who wins the toss will prefer to bowl first, as limiting teams is quite challenging on this ground, which has shorter boundaries and an exceptionally quick outfield.
KKR vs RR Head To Head Record:
Matches Played- 32
Won by Kolkata Knight Riders – 16
Won by Rajasthan Royals – 14
Tied – 00
No Result – 02
KKR vs RR, IPL 2026 Match Prediction:
Looking at the recent form, the Rajasthan Royals are overwhelming favourites to win the match despite losing their previous game. Their departments of bowling and batting are well and truly synchronized to get the desired result. On the other hand, KKR has to play out of their skin to achieve their first win in the tournament.
KKR vs RR Squads:
Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Nehal Wadhera, Vishnu Vinod, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Yash Thakur, Mitchell Owen, Vishal Nishad, Pyla Avinash, Musheer Khan, Harnoor Singh, Azmatullah Omarzai, Lockie Ferguson, Praveen Dubey, Ben Dwarshuis
Lucknow Super Giants Squad: Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, Rishabh Pant(c), Nicholas Pooran, Ayush Badoni, Abdul Samad, Mukul Choudhary(w), Mohammed Shami, Avesh Khan, Digvesh Singh Rathi, Prince Yadav, George Linde, Himmat Singh, Josh Inglis, Anrich Nortje, Manimaran Siddharth, Matthew Breetzke, Mohsin Khan, Arjun Tendulkar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Maharaj Singh, Mayank Yadav, Akshat Raghuwanshi, Arshin Kulkarni, Naman Tiwari
Also Read: IPL 2026: Musheer Khan’s Hilarious Mimicry of Shreyas Iyer Leaves Fans in Splits | WATCH
Vishal Pushkar is a Chief Sub-Editor with NewsX and has been associated with the company since March 2026. He has been working as a journalist since 2021. His experience includes working with Zee Media, Amazon and Dainik Jagran. Vishal holds a BA (English Honours) degree from Shyam Lal College, University of Delhi and a Post-Graduate Diploma from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi. Vishal has completed a beginner’s course in the German language as well.
