KKR eye vital points vs RCB with Varun fitness in focus

KKR vs RCB, Wed May 13, 7:30 PM IST, Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh Stadium, Raipur, KKR: 8th place, 9 points from 9 games – 4 wins, 5 losses. Need to win all remaining matches to stay alive for playoffs, RCB: Fighting to secure top spot. What happened: Varun Chakravarthy aggravated a left leg injury vs DC at Arun Jaitley Stadium. Seen using crutches + knee brace in hotel in Raipur. Viral video sparked panic. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), champions from 2024, were slow off the blocks this season. But they've found a second wind in the back half of the league stage, and with four wins on the trot, have form on their side to make a back-door entry into the playoffs. With four games remaining and eight points still up for grabs, fate is still in their own hands, aided by the one washout point they had earned against Punjab Kings. “He's just being monitored at the moment. Obviously he was sore the second last game and the last game he was in a lot of pain, even though he still bowled incredibly well... We've got our fingers crossed that he will be available for tomorrow, but we're just still not exactly sure.” On the other hand, KKR come into the game with two emphatic wins - by eight and seven wickets respectively away from home. Sunil Narine has gone at only 6.51 an over, Finn Allen has finally begun to fire, Rinku Singh looks in fine touch, Cameron Green is stepping up, and their batting line-up has averaged just 4.5 dismissals per innings since their winning run began. Form: Key part of KKR’s recent 4-match winning streak. After poor start – 0/105 in first 3 games – he’s taken 10 wickets at 7.31 economy since returning vs RCB record: 15 wickets in 11 IPL matches vs RCB, economy 7.18Role: Controls middle overs with Sunil Narine. On Raipur’s slow pitch with big boundaries, his overs are “vital” Bottom line: KKR are in “win or get eliminated” territory. Varun bowled through pain last 2 games but was “in a lot of pain”. Final call expected closer to toss. If he’s out, KKR’s spin attack loses bite on a pitch where control is everything. After some rain last week, Raipur is back to being its usual - hot at 37 degrees and humid at 31%. The RCB vs MI game, the first IPL game since 2016 at the venue, was a final-over thriller. It swung early on and spinners had it easier in the first innings. It'll be the kind of surface where teams will have to make decisions intuitively, and both Patidar and Ajinkya Rahane will have to stay switched on.