KKR VS RCB: Traveling to Eden Gardens has always been a bittersweet experience for Royal Challengers Bangalore. They won the Eliminator here last year and saw Virat Kohli ton up en route to a team total of 213 in 2019, but the 2017 edition was all about the infamous 49 all out. Now that RCB will return to take on KKR here for the first time in four years, it’s an opportunity for a fresh start against the home side, to whom they have lost six out of the 10 games at the venue.
KKR VS RCB
When: Thursday, April 6 at 7:30 PM local
Where: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
What to expect: A full house crowd is expected at the venue even on a weekday. There’s no rain expected and the pitch should be a good one to bat on but expect some help for the spinners. Ravi Bishnoi and Axar Patel saw some success for India in the most recent T20Is here.
Team News:
Kolkata Knight Riders:
Injuries/Availability: Jason Roy, who has been signed as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan, won’t be available for this game. He will be joining the squad directly in Ahmedabad for their next fixture. Lockie Ferguson wasn’t 100 percent for the first game but if fit, he is expected to replace Tim Southee straightaway.
Tactics & Matchups: Umesh Yadav is a favorable matchup for Glenn Maxwell, having dismissed the batter three times for 17 runs in the 20 balls he has bowled to him.
Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Injuries/Availability: Reece Topley has traveled to Kolkata but is unlikely to feature against KKR after dislocating his shoulder in the first match. David Willey is set to replace him in the eleven.
Tactics & Matchups: RCB will be wary of Andre Russell who has a very good record against them. The explosive batter has scored 395 runs in 13 innings against RCB, at an average of nearly 43 and a strike rate of 208.
Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shabaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, David Willey, Mohammed Siraj
KKR Playing 11
1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK)
2. Mandeep Singh
3. Nitish Rana (C)
4. Rinku Singh
5. Andre Russell
6. Shardul Thakur
7. Sunil Narine
8. Anukul Roy
9. Tim Southee
10. Umesh Yadav
11. Varun Chakravarthy
RCB Playing 11
1. Virat Kohli
2. Faf du Plessis (C)
3. Glenn Maxwell
4. Michael Bracewell
5. Shahbaz Ahmed
6. Dinesh Karthik (WK)
7. David Willey
8. Harshal Patel
9. Akash Deep
10. Mohammed Siraj
11. Karn Sharma
Squads:
Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Mandeep Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Anukul Roy, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan, David Wiese, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, Kulwant Khejroliya, Harshit Rana
Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, David Willey, Suyash Prabhudessai, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Sonu Yadav, Siddarth Kaul, Finn Allen, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Himanshu Sharma
