RCB vs KKR Match Preview

One of the major reasons for RCB's success is the excellent performance of their top-order batsmen. Skipper Faf Du Plessis is in phenomenal form, scoring 5 half-centuries in 7 innings, and is leading the race for the Orange Cap. He has received excellent support from Virat Kohli and together the duo has given RCB some good starts.

As the wickets slow-up, we think things could start becoming difficult for Virat Kohli, particularly after the powerplay. 

Glenn Maxwell, who had a slow start to the season, has gradually gathered pace and played a couple of brilliant knocks in recent matches. His ability to strike big has been coupled with consistency this season and that is a very rare combination to have.

On the flip side, due to the top order’s dominance, the batsmen lower down the order haven’t had much of a chance to play. And whatever chances they did get, they struggled. Dinesh Kartik, Mahipal Lomror, and Shahbaz Ahmed have all failed to play a big inning so far.

Every team coming up against RCB will know that they are always two wickets away from exposing a weak middle order.

The seamers have done a good job for the team. Mohammed Siraj has picked up 13 wickets and is the joint-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. His ability to pick wickets in the powerplay is brilliant and he has also been quite economical so far.

He has received good support from Harshal Patel and Wayne Parnell. The spin department doesn’t look as strong though as Wanindu Hasaranga is the only full-time spinner on the team.

While some of the Indian players in the KKR batting line-up, including Venkatesh Iyer, Nitesh Rana, and Rinku Singh have played well, some of the big international names like Andre Russell and Rahmanullah Gurbaz haven’t been consistent.

KKR is missing the services of experienced campaigners, Shreyas Iyer and Shakib Al-Hasan. Jason Roy, who recently made his way into the team, scored a brisk 61 runs in the last match and will be looking to play another big inning here.

It was quite strange to see Roy walk out in the middle order when he is best suited to play at the top. With some runs behind him, we hope KKR sends him out at his preferred position.

The bowling too hasn’t been in the best of forms this season. Varun Chakaravarthy has been the pick of the bowlers with 10 wickets and has received good support from Sunil Narine (who has been economical but has not been able too take many wickets).

Similarly, the pacers in the squad, including Umesh Yadav, Kulwant Khejroliya, and Shardul Thakur have failed to cause any problems for the opposition batsmen. The bowling attack for KKR is one of the weakest in IPL 2023.

Weather Report

Since this is a D/N game, the dew factor might come into play during the latter half of the match. There are some clouds around and we could have a few interruptions.

Pitch Report

The Chinnaswamy Stadium offers an excellent track to bat on and we have seen some high-scoring encounters this season already. The average score batting first here in IPL 2023 is 195.8 while 200 is the average winning score batting first.

The slowdown in the surface could bring down the average scores a bit but we still think teams will have to aim for a big score. Bowlers like Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga could play a big role for RCB while Suyash Sharma and Varun Chakravarthy could be decisive for KKR in this contest.

Notable stats

Rinku Singh’s Consistent Batting

Rinku Singh has emerged as KKR’s most reliable batsman this season. He has scored 233 runs at an average of 58.25 and a strike rate of 157.43.

Team News

There are no updates regarding injuries from either side. 

 

RCB vs KKR Probable 11

RCB Playing 11

  • Virat Kohli
  • Faf Du Plessis (C)
  • Glen Maxwell
  • Mahipal Lomror
  • Dinesh Kartik (Wk)
  • Shahbaz Khan
  • Suyash Prabhudessai
  • David Willey
  • Mohammed Siraj
  • Wanindu Hasaranga
  • Harshal Patel

KKR Playing 11

  • N Jagadeesan (Wk)
  • Jason Roy
  • Nitesh Rana (C)
  • Venkatesh Iyer
  • Rinku Singh
  • Sunil Narine
  • Andre Russell
  • David Weise
  • Kulwant Khejroliya
  • Umesh Yadav
  • Varun Chakaravarthy
This is not the official playing 11 for the match. This is a prediction of the expected playing 11 for each team based on the writers analysis.

Dream11 Prediction

We are backing the Royal Challengers Bangalore to win here. They have batted brilliantly in the last few matches and have a good record at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. They have a good pace attack that can ask tough questions of the opposition. On the other hand, the Knight Riders have struggled in all aspects of the game. 

 

Top Picks

Faf Du Plessis: Faf Du Plessis is in sublime form this season. He has scored 5 half-centuries in 7 innings, scoring a total of 405 runs at a strike rate of 165.30.

Mohammed Siraj: Mohammed Siraj has emerged as RCB’s premier bowler. He has picked up 13 wickets at an impressive bowling strike rate of 12.9. His economy rate is pretty good too, at just 7.19 runs per over.

Rinku Singh: Rinku Singh has showcased his hard-hitting abilities on more than one occasion this season. He has scored an aggregate of 233 runs at an impressive strike rate of 157.43. 

 

RCB vs KKR Dream11 Team 1

Keeper: N Jagadeesan

Batters: V Kohli, F du Plessis (C), N Rana, R Singh, J Roy (VC)

All-rounders: G Maxwell, W Hasaranga, A Russell

Bowlers: M Siraj, H Patel

RCB vs KKR Dream11 Prediction - OCB Team Prediction