KKR vs RCB Match Preview
Sunil Narine and Phil Salt form a dynamic opening duo and are the leading run-scorers for the team. Narine has been the standout performer in KKR's batting lineup, with impressive half-century and century knocks in his recent innings, putting him in contention for the Orange Cap.
KKR must focus on strengthening their middle-order batting. Despite promising starts, Shreyas Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, and Venkatesh Iyer have struggled to convert them into big scores. On a positive note, KKR can rely on the finishing abilities of Andre Russell and Rinku Singh.
Improving the bowling department is also crucial for KKR. Failing to defend a massive total of 223 runs in the previous match is concerning. Apart from Narine, all bowlers have an economy rate exceeding 9 runs per over, indicating the need for better performance in this area.
Apart from Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Dinesh Karthik, the batting performance has been rather lackluster. Kohli has been exceptional this season, leading the run-scoring charts with 361 runs. He has displayed his brilliance with two half-centuries and a century in his last six innings.
Although Du Plessis and Karthik showed great form in the previous match, scoring quick half-centuries, unfortunately, it was in a losing cause. However, players like Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Will Jacks, and Rajat Patidar need to step up their game. The bowling department is also not up to the mark.
Mohammed Siraj has struggled to make an impact with the new ball, managing to take only four wickets in six matches. Lockie Ferguson and Reece Topley were expensive in the last game, conceding over 13 runs per over. Additionally, the spin attack seems almost non-existent.
Weather Report
The weather is expected to be hot with temperatures of over 35 degrees, with plenty of sunshine.
Pitch Report
The Eden Gardens has already hosted a couple of high-scoring matches this season and has seen an average first-inning score of around 200, and that too hasn’t been enough at times. The team batting first will aim for at least 225-250 runs to give the bowlers a good chance at defending. The latter will have very little margin for error and will have to bowl an accurate line and length.
Notable stats
Sunil Narine: On Fire
Sunil Narine scored a century and also picked up 2 wickets in his latest match against RR. This is the best all-round performance by a KKR player in the IPL.
Team News
There are no updates regarding injuries from either side.
KKR vs RCB Probable 11
KKR Playing 11
- Sunil Narine
- Phil Salt (Wk)
- Angkrish Raghuvanshi
- Shreyas Iyer (C)
- Venkatesh Iyer
- Rinku Singh
- Andre Russell
- Mitchell Starc
- Varun Chakaravarthy
- Ramandeep Singh
- Harshit Rana
RCB Playing 11
- Faf du Plessis (C)
- Virat Kohli
- Will Jacks
- Rajat Patidar
- Saurav Chauhan
- Dinesh Karthik (Wk)
- Mahipal Lomror
- Vijaykumar Vyshak
- Lockie Ferguson
- Reece Topley
- Yash Dayal
Dream11 Prediction
We are backing the Kolkata Knight Riders to win this match. The team has one of the strongest and deepest batting units in the league, and most of the team’s batsmen are in good form. On the other hand, RCB hasn’t been in the best of forms, and its performance in away matches has been especially poor.
Top Picks
Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli is the leading run-scorer of the season with 361 runs scored at an average of 72.20 and a strike rate of 147.34.
Sunil Narine: Sunil Narine has scored 276 runs at a strike rate of 187.75 and has also picked up 7 wickets.
Andre Russell: Russell has scored 128 runs at a strike rate of 200 and has also picked up 6 wickets.
KKR vs RCB Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: P Salt, D Karthik
Batters: F du Plessis, V Kohli (C), R Singh, S Iyer
All-rounders: A Russell, S Narine (VC), W Jacks
Bowlers: M Starc, V Chakravarthy