Cricket
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals Preview: Odds, Tips, & Prediction
Date: May 4, 2025 Starting time: 15.30 IST Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata Last meeting: Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Rajasthan Royals by 8 wickets (March 26, 2025) Kolkata Knight Riders will be eager to prove a point when they host the Rajasthan Royals at Eden Gardens. There will be tons of IPL betting sites rushing to post odds in the lead-up to this game which always provokes interest. As reigning champions, KKR have failed to justify the hype so far this term, and they have been dogged by inconsistency. They seem to take one step forward and two big steps back, as illustrated by the 16-run defeat to the Punjab Kings.
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Sunil Narine of Kolkata Knight Riders//Getty Images
Then again, the Rajasthan Royals aren’t exactly pulling up trees, and they were recently on the wrong side of tight contests against the Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants. With DC, the Royals lost out in the Super Over after a tied game in regulation overs.
We’re supplied IPL betting tips and Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals predictions to put you in the picture ahead of the match, so see what we have to say.
Pre-Game Odds and Win Probability
If you wish to bet on IPL games, you will need to take a closer look at the outrights offered by the best online betting sites.
We’ve whizzed around the markets and located some pre-match betting odds for KKR vs RR.
- Kolkata Knight Riders: 1.83 (83/100) – 54.6%
- Rajasthan Royals: 1.97 (97/100) – 50.8%
Odds courtesy of N1Bet, subject to change
Head-to-Head Record
To shape your IPL betting strategies, it’s always worth looking at the tale of the tape. We’ve detailed the results of the past five meetings between KKR and RR.
Last five meetings (Indian Premier League)
March 26, 2025: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 8 wickets
May 19, 2024: Match abandoned without a ball being bowled
April 16, 2024: Rajasthan Royals won by 2 wickets
May 11, 2023: Rajasthan Royals won by 9 wickets
May 2, 2023: Kolkata Knight Riders won by 7 wickets
Kolkata Knight Riders
To tie in with our Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals preview, we’ve identified three players from each side worth paying attention to, starting with KKR.
- Ajinkya Rahane – As captain, Ajinkya Rahane seems like the focal point of the team, and invariably he delivers. He only made 17 against the Punjab Kings, but he’s already clocked up a couple of half-centuries in the IPL this season, so write him off at your peril.
- Quinton de Kock – The broad-shouldered South African can turn on the style, doubling up as a wicketkeeper-batsman. He thrives in the shortest format, and the highlight of his IPL campaign to date was a 97 unbeaten knock against the Rajasthan Royals, so he will relish this fixture. Form may be temporary, but class is permanent!
- Sunil Narine – While you might be forgiven for thinking Sunil Narine is just a batter, he is also a brilliant off break bowler, and he has been among the wickets lately. He picked up two wickets in three overs against PBKS, conceding just 14 runs, so he can perform with the ball.
Rajasthan Royals
Let’s now turn our attention to the RR to see who could affect the outcome of this match.
- Yashasvi Jaiswal – He may only be 23, but Yashasvi Jaiswal takes everything in his stride as the opening batsman. His last three scores have seen him average just shy of 67, and he has amassed over 300 runs in the tournament which is impressive. He could be a thorn in the KK side.
- Wanindu Hasaranga – Apart from firing a blank with the ball at hand against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Wanindu Hasaranga has picked up wickets at times with consummate ease. He claimed two wickets against the Lucknow Super Giants, and he could have some success against KKR.
- Shimron Hetmyer – A middle-order batsman who is quite flamboyant, Shimron Hetmyer usually turns heads, and while he’s only had one half-century to date this term in the IPL, he can go through the gears and produce some special performances with the bat, so watch out!
Top Batsman for Both Teams
To guide IPL stats for betting, it’s always worth providing a quick overview of the top batters for each side.
Kolkata Knight Riders
- Quinton de Kock – With 3,300 runs to date in his IPL career at an average of just under 31, Quinton de Kock is a big-match player, and he could turn the game on its head if he’s given anything that is fractionally wide of off stump.
Rajasthan Royals
- Yashasvi Jaiswal – One of the superstars of the 2025 class, Yashasvi Jaiswal fired 74 runs off 52 balls against the Lucknow Super Giants, and he is the sort of player who will dominate for years to come. He’s the ace in the pack!
Predicted Line-Ups
This is how we think the Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Royals could line up for this IPL clash:
Kolkata Knight Riders
- Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper batsman)
- Sunil Narine
- Ajinkya Rahane (captain)
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Rinku Singh
- Andre Russell
- Ramandeep Singh
- Harshit Rana
- Vaibhav Arora
- Anrich Nortje
Rajasthan Royals
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Vaibhav Suryavanshi
- Nitish Rana
- Riyan Parag (captain)
- Dhruv Jurel
- Shimron Hetmyer
- Subham Dubley
- Shardul Thakur
- Avesh Khan
- Digvesh Rathi
- Aiden Markram
Suggested Bets
time to run through a couple more Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals betting odds that have been sourced from reputable betting platforms.
Kolkata Knight Riders to Win The Toss - Winning the toss can sometimes afford a psychological advantage. KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane will get the chance to make the toss, and we think he could make the right call (19/20 with 1xBet).
First ball of the match to be a Dot Ball: Yes, the IPL is never short on drama or huge hits, but things could be a bit more sedate at the very start. The opening delivery could result in no runs scored off it (17/25 with 1xBet).
Value Bet
Apart from locating bonuses for IPL games, sites worth their salt will have some value lines which could be worth investigating if you want a return on your wager. We have plucked out a line ahead of KKR vs RR.
Total Even – Yes: Given the frantic nature of the IPL where there are usually loads of fours and sixes slapped to all areas of the ground, this could be a high-scoring game, but where the total number of runs is even, and this could be worth exploring (117/100 with BetWinner).
Prediction: Rajasthan Royals to Win
This game feels like a tough one to call! If we’re going solely on form, then KKR have the upper hand, even if they have been inconsistent.
The Rajasthan Royals though haven’t had any problems piling on the runs, and while they have been on the wrong side of some scorelines, these were very narrow defeats, and things could have been very different.
They seem to be a bit more assured than the KKR, so we’re going with RR to take the win. If you want to get involved in the action, it’s worth checking out some of the best betting sites with welcome bonus before placing your bets.
Charles Perrin is a highly experienced sports betting content writer with over six years of working with some of the leading sportsbooks in the UK, including bet365 and William Hill.