In the 36th game of the Indian Premier League 2023, Royal Challengers Bangalore will aim to maintain their current form as they take on Kolkata Knight Riders. Following their narrow victory against Rajasthan Royals in their previous match, the Royal Challengers will be feeling confident. In contrast, the Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to recover from a significant defeat against the Chennai Super Kings.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have experienced four consecutive losses, and their bowling attack has struggled, resulting in poor performances. Meanwhile, the Royal Challengers have two key batsmen in excellent form and will have the advantage of playing on their home ground. Whether KKR can win this game and get their campaign back on track remains to be seen.
Overview
Royal Challengers Bangalore: After a narrow 7-run victory over Rajasthan Royals, Virat Kohli, the skipper of Royal Challengers Bangalore, will be pleased with his team's performance. RCB has won three of their last four matches and will be confident playing at home. However, the team's middle-order remains a concern, and Kohli will be hoping for improved performances from them.
Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli have been in excellent form, amassing nearly 700 runs between them. The opening pair will need to provide a strong start. While Glenn Maxwell has been among the runs, the middle-order batters like Shahbaz Ahmed and Mahipal Lomror need to contribute more. Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Suyash Prabhudessai will have to chip in with the bat in the lower order.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Nitish Rana's side had entered a mid-season crisis. They made a good start but have dropped in form and come here with four consecutive losses. It was a poor show from their bowlers in the last game, as they went down by 49 runs after conceding 235 runs bowling first. The players must get their acts together, and the bowling attack must deliver for the side to win. The opening combination hasn't got going in most games, and they need a good start from N Jagadeesan and Sunil Narine. Venkatesh Iyer, Jason Roy, and Nitish Rana have made runs and will need to do well in the middle order. KKR have depth in the batting, and they will bank on the power-hitting trio of Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, and David Weise to do well in the finishing act.
Probable XII (XI+Impact Player)
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Virat Kohli (c), Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Vijaykumar Vyshak (impact player)
Kolkata Knight Riders
Nitish Rana (c), N Jagadeesan (wk), Jason Roy, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Venkatesh Iyer (impact player)
Head-to-head
Total 31
KKR won 17
RCB won 14
Interesting Facts
2 – Nitish Rana (348) needs two fours to complete 350 fours in T20s.
1 – Jason Roy (49) needs one four to reach 50 fours in the IPL.
2 – Harshal Patel (198) is two scalps away from reaching 200 wickets in T20 matches.
1 – Varun Chakaravarthy (49) is one game away from appearing in 50 IPL matches.
6 – Venkatesh Iyer (194) requires six fours to get to 200 fours in T20s.
3 – Tim Southee (47) is three scalps away from reaching 50 wickets in the IPL.
97 – Virat Kohli (6903) is 97 runs short of reaching the landmark of 7000 runs in the cash-rich league.
3 – Lockie Ferguson (147) requires three scalps to get to 150 wickets in all T20s.
3 – Faf du Plessis (347) needs three fours to complete 350 fours in the IPL.
2 – Andre Russell (498) is two fours away from completing 500 fours in T20 cricket.
3 – David Wiese (197) requires three big hits to get to 200 maximums in T20 cricket.
Pitch/Weather Report: The upcoming match at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium is the penultimate game of the season to be held there. The pitch is expected to favor the batsmen, with a high-scoring game likely. There is no rain expected tonight and the weather is expected to be a tad warm. In the previous T20 matches played at this venue, the average first innings score has been 194 runs.
Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Date & Time: April 26th at 7:30 PM IST (local time)
Live Streaming: Star Sports Network (Television) and Jio Cinema (OTT/Digital)
Dream 11 Team
