RR vs KKR: 'Best IPL 2024 team' KKR backed by Aakash Chopra to crush RR in upcoming clash

Former India opener Aakash Chopra has hailed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as the best team of the ongoing IPL 2024 and has backed them to beat Rajasthan Royals in the last league game of the tournament.

The two-time IPL champions are currently at the top of the points table with 19 points from 13 games and are assured of finishing the league stage at the top. They are finishing the league stage at the top of the table for the first time in the IPL even though they have won the title twice.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side is currently on a four-match winning run and will be eyeing another win to end their league campaign on a winning note. And as they gear up for the upcoming game against RR, Aakash Chopra has heaped praise on them, saying that he cannot find any weakness or fault in the team.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the former cricketer-turned-commentator backed KKR to beat in the upcoming game as well as in the first Qualifier if both the teams lock horns against each other again. RR are currently at the second spot in the points table but can drop to third if they fail to beat KKR and Sunrisers Hyderabad win their game.

"Very difficult to find faults in this team. All things are working almost perfectly. A dream season is unfolding in front of us. If I tell the truth, KKR are the best team at the moment, they are already at No. 1, and I feel they will beat Rajasthan as well, here also and even in Qualifier 1 as well if they meet them there," he said.

Aakash Chopra on KKR's opening combination:

While everything has gone well for KKR so far, they will have to sort out their opening combination soon after the departure of in-form Phil Salt. The England star has returned home for national duty and KKR will have to find an apt replacement. Speaking about it, Aakash Chopra said that Afghan star Rahmanullah Gurbaz is likely to open the innings with Sunil Narine.

"Kolkata will play Rahmanullah Gurbaz for sure, it's obvious, and that's the only thing they need to correct. Since Phil Salt has left, will they miss him a lot? Maybe yes, maybe not, but Rahmanullah is a brilliant player. So from Kolkata's viewpoint, he should score runs," Chopra said.

He further spoke about the impact the KKR players will have in the forthcoming game against RR, saying: "Sunil Narine's batting and bowling can both work very well on this pitch because, strangely enough, dew is not coming. I don't know how but dew wasn't there. Shreyas Iyer hasn't scored those many runs thus far. It has been a slightly cold season for him, so he would want to score runs.

"Venkatesh Iyer is playing well. If we go down the order, (Andre) Russell is playing very well but Rinku Singh hasn't scored that many runs. So he should score runs and Ramandeep Singh plays well in any case. Nitish Rana also played well in the last match," added Chopra.