Royal Challengers Bangalore step foot in the City of Joy as a battle with the Knights awaits

The last time the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) played in Kolkata, it was a mixed outing for the Red and Gold army as they secured a crucial victory against the Lucknow Super Giants but couldn’t get past the might of Rajasthan Royals in the second eliminator.

With the past well behind them, RCB eye a new dawn against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The Challengers got off to a soaring start in IPL 2023, thumping Mumbai Indians in their season opener as two of their finest batters roared with the willow in hand.

It wasn’t just a valiant batting display that saw RCB securing their first win of the season but their bowlers were equally brilliant. The bowlers got off to a top start and continued to be stellar throughout before Tilak Varma put up a fight and stabilized MI’s batting effort. 

Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, commenced their IPL 2023 season with a loss against the Punjab Kings and will want to put on a show in front of home fans. Despite fragmented bursts of brilliance, the team somehow couldn’t really stitch together a formidable display and with so many questions asked of them, they will need someone to deliver massively if they are to match the yardsticks set by RCB.

Venue Watch

As the antiquity of Eden Gardens goes, a total of 12 T20Is have been played so far out of which 5 have been won batting first while 7 have been won chasing. The average first-inning score has been a modest 155 while the average score in the second essay slumps down to an alarming 137. Eden Gardens have been somewhat of a spinner’s paradise but then again with the dew factor kicking in, things can change really fast, particularly for the team batting second.

Player battles to watch out for:

Faf du Plessis vs Umesh Yadav

Faf du Plessis showcased his exemplary batting flair in the first match of the tournament and was clinical against the pacers, as he whacked around the cherry with the ball flying across the ropes way too frequently. Umesh Yadav will be a big name in the ranks of KKR, considering the kind of experience that he brings along with himself and his familiarity with the Challengers’ batting unit.

Virat Kohli vs Sunil Narine

Virat Kohli showcased his effusive touch in the season opener as he hammered a crucial 82, and the wide array of strokes he brought out were an absolute treat for the eyes. Sunil Narine, on the contrary, had a few shortcomings of his own in the season opener but once again, the recent form that Narine has shown across other tournaments would instil hopes in the hearts of the fans.

Harshal Patel vs Andre Russell

Harshal Patel was slightly expensive in the opening fixture but once again, knowing the fact that he has the ability to fox the best of batters with his variations, he can very well be a game-changing threat against one of KKR’s finest strikers of the ball. Andre Russell is an explosive batter in the shortest format of the game and given his history against RCB, this will be one contest to savour.

Match details:

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Venue: Eden Gardens Stadium

Date: 6th April, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 30

KKR: 14

RCB: 16

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Faf Du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Michael Bracewell

Kolkata Knight Riders:

Nitish Rana (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, Narayan Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Weise, Kulwant Khejrolia, Mandeep Singh, Litton Das, Jason Roy.