KKR Vs RCB, Match Preview
Royal Challengers and Kolkata Knight Riders have seen a lot of low scores while playing each other. There was a 49 all-out, and 80-odd last season. Both sides have high-profile players, and the leaders also lead two high-profile sides. Virat Kohli, and Eoin Morgan at the toss could be a preview of what we may see at the World Cup, and high-profile action from two magnificent leaders’ beckons.
In the first leg, RCB had good contributions throughout, while Harshal Patel was a stand-out performer. The inclusion of Maxwell gave Bangalore a strong middle-order. They will be without Washington Sundar, who is injured, but they have a strong set of replacement players. With Hasaranga in hot-form, Bangalore may look at how to include him in their overseas quota. Last season the bowling relied on Yuzvendre Chahal and Chris Morris, while the likes of Siraj came to the fore later in the tournament. With Chahal out of the World Cup squad, he may look at this as an opportunity to come back fighting.
The Kolkata Knight Riders struggled with consistency throughout phase one. Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik weren’t among the runs, while Gill struggled. Russell, Rana and Cummins performed, but not enough to help Kolkata win games. They are currently seventh, and will need a strong contribution to get back in the tournament. They face a side against whom they have a decent record, and will be confident to get their tournament up and running.
KKR Vs RCB, Team News
The Royal Challengers Bangalore have made a lot of replacements in the second leg of the IPL. They will be without Washington Sundar, and need to find an Indian to replace him. RCB will also look to include Hasaranga, as the all-rounder has been in magnificent form off late.
For Kolkata, their batting has struggled, and Pat Cummins is out of the second leg. They have Lockie Ferguson in the squad, and Tim Southee as a replacement.
KKR Vs RCB, Predicted XIs
KKR Potential XI: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Nitish Rana, 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Prasidh Krishna, 9 Shivam Mavi, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Varun Chakravarthy
RCB Potential XI: 1 Devdutt Padikkal, 2 Virat Kohli (capt), 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 AB de Villiers (wk), 6 Shahbaz Ahmed, 7 Kyle Jamieson, 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
KKR Vs RCB, Players to Watch out for
Shubman Gill
Gill was in poor form in the first leg of the IPL. He struggled with form and fluency, and also missed the England tour due to injury. Fitness permitting, the young opener will be eager to find his touch soon, and remind people of his presence.
Yuzvendra Chahal
In a shocking move, Yuzvendera Chahal has been left out of the World Cup squad. He was one of the key members of the side over the last few years, but will be hurting at missing out on the World Cup squad. With an opportunity ahead, Chahal could potentially make a huge difference on RCBs fortunes in the remainder of the season.
KKR Vs RCB, Pitch Report
Abu Dhabi is one of the larger stadiums in the UAE. The ground has interesting dimensions and a pitch that favors players of all kinds. There is spin on offer with the dryness in the surface, but the hardness allows batters and pacers to come into the game as well. Chasing is a better option, as the surface is fresh and will be easier to bat on early in the season.