IPL Preview: KKR take on RCB with eye on IPL play-off

Smarting from successive defeats, an under-pressure Kolkata Knight Riders will look to regain their momentum and remain in the hunt for the knockout stage when they clash with laggards Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL encounter here on Sunday.

Kolkata Knight Riders, who suffered losses against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rising Pune Supergiant in the last two matches, need two wins out of the remaining three matches to seal their berth in the play-off.

The two-time champions are placed second in the table with 14 points out of 11 matches, followed by RPS and Sunrisers at 14 and 13 points.

During their last meeting, KKR had handed out a 82-run defeat to RCB after bowling them out for 49 -- the lowest score in IPL history -- and Gautam Gambhir's men would look to repeat the performance

on Sunday. In the next two matches, KKR would be facing a resurgent Kings XI Punjab, who registered a thrilling 19-run victory against RCB on

Friday night in a low-scoring game, and a formidable Mumbai Indians,who were the first team to qualify for play- off with 16 points, in 10 matches.

Rookie batsman Rahul Tripathi of RPS played an electrifying match-winning innings of 93 to stand in the way of KKR after they were restricted to

155 for eight.

Gambhir's side lost by four wickets and the defeat could be a reality check for the Kolkata side as their top order collapsed in the last match, while Colin de Grandhomme's 36 and Manish Pandey's 37 saved the blushes.