Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, IPL 2023, Today Match Prediction

kkr vs rcb Match Prediction & Analysis

After losing the first game against Punjab Kings by 7 runs (D/L Method), Kolkata Knight Riders will be worried about facing RCB in their second game. And the reason is obvious! Faf is hitting the ball like a canon, and King Kohli is back in the form. Kolkata Knight Riders will host Royal Challengers Banglore in the 9th match of the IPL 2023 at Eden Gardens on 6th April from 7:30 pm onwards.

KKR played Punjab Kings in their opening game of the season. Batting first, Punjab Kings set a target of 192 runs for the visiting KKR. Kolkata’s bowling was below par after putting pressure on Punjab Kings in the earlier stages. The chase didn’t go as planned for KKR, as they lost two wickets in the first two overs. Impact player Venkatesh Iyer and skipper Nitish Rana tried to take the innings forward, but the poor scoring rate cost KKR a victory. Andre Russell tried to make an impact with 35 runs off 19 balls in the later stage of the game. But rain ruined the chances of KKR. The Knight Riders lost the game by 7 runs (D/LMethod).

On the other hand, RCB took on Mumbai Indians in their first game of this season. Even after restricting MI to 48 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in the first half, RCB’s bowling unit gave enough chances to MI. Chasing 172 runs, RCB openers brought their top performance. Faf and Kohli’s 148 runs partnership off 89 balls was enough to chase down the target in 16.2 overs. With the victory over MI, RCB climbed to the third spot with 2 points.

RCB has won three of their last 5 games against KKR. In their last battle in IPL 2022, RCB restricted KKR to just 128 runs. Wanindu Hasarnga claimed 4 wickets in the game. RCB chased the target in the final over of the game with three wickets in hand. Sherfane Rutherford (28) and Shahbaz Ahmed (27) provided crucial late runs in the nail-biting game.

Even at Eden Gardens, RCB has won three out of the last five games.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Kolkata Knight Riders Preview

The injury-marred KKR is getting more difficult news day by day. First, Shreyas Iyer had been ruled out of the season, and now it is Shakib Al Hasan. With Lockie Ferguson injured and Litton Das yes to come, They have just 5 international players in the camp. The newly appointed skipper Nitish Rana has the difficult task of taking this team forward. KKR has decided to go with Mandeep Singh and Rahmanullah Gurbaz as an opener over Venkatesh Iyer. Gurbaz had a decent PSL season, scoring at a strike rate of 150. But with Anukul Roy at third, the KKR top order doesn’t look scary or experienced. 

KKR’s middle order is their core Nitish Rana, Venkatesh Iyer, and Andre Russell will be the players to watch out for the entire season. But Rana hasn’t had good form against RCB since his heroics (85 off 46) at Eden Gardens in 2019. A captain’s knock is expected from Rana. Iyer scored 34 off 28 runs in the first game. Though it was needed to stabilize the innings then, as an impact player, he failed to impress. Hopefully, we expect more from him as an impact player for KKR. Andre Russell has scored at a strike rate of 200-plus in the last 6 games against RCB. His last game at Eden Gardens against RCB ended with him scoring 65 off 25 balls, hitting 9 sixes. Overall, Russell has hit 22 sixes in these 6 games. We are pitching him to be our top batter of the KKR innings.

KKR bowlers couldn’t find the rhythm to restrict the runs from Punjab Kings. World’s leading T20I wicket-taker Tim Southee took 2 wickets but gave 54 runs. It was Umesh Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy who came out with an impressive economy. To go against the figures like Kohli and Faf, KKR will need Narine and Thakur to fire up, or another big score to chase will be on the cards.

Key Players: Andre Russell, Rahamanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine

Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy. Impact Player: Venkatesh Iyer.

Kolkata Knight Riders Actual Playing XI:

Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Rinku Singh, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Nitish Rana, Mandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Royal Challengers Bangalore Preview

Is this the season all RCB fans looking for? The first game gave a glimpse of it. RCB openers Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli brought joy to the Chinnaswamy Stadium while chasing 172 runs against MI. Faf scored 73 off 43, including 5 fours and 6 sixes. He was the second-leading run-scorer of the SA20. In 11 games, du Plessis scored 369 runs at a strike rate of 147.60. Plus, he has scored 229 runs (2 half-centuries) in the last 4 games against KKR.

Another big news for the RCB camp is the form of King Kohli. Kohli hit an unbeaten 82 runs in 49 balls. Out of these, the last 32 came in just 11 balls.     Is the record of 973 runs under threat? Looks like it! The last time Kohli visited Eden Gardens, he scored a century. Overall, these two will define the outcome of the game. Glenn Maxwell is fit to play and had a small cameo in the first game with 2 gigantic sixes. Micheal Brcewell, Shabaz Ahmed, and Dinesh Karthik will play in the middle order for RCB.

RCB will be missing Reece Topley due to a dislocated shoulder - an injury he faced during the first game. This might bring David Willey back into the team. Mohammad Siraj and Karn Sharma were the most impressive bowlers of the first game. While Sharma took 2 wickets for 32, Siraj took 1 for 21 and was the most economical. Siraj is our choice for the top bowlers from the RCB camp.

Key Players: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Mohammed Siraj.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted Playing XI:

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Reece Topley, Mohammed Siraj.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Actual Playing XI:

Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Virat Kohli, Harshal Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Faf du Plessis, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Akash Deep, Glenn Maxwell

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be clear. The temperature will range between 25 and 37. The wind will be flowing from the west at 10-15 kmh. The pitch at the Eden Gardens is generally considered to be a batting paradise, with the ball coming on nicely to the bat and providing good bounce. The surface at Eden Gardens is traditionally on the slower side, with the ball not coming onto the bat as quickly as it would in other venues. This means that batsmen must be patient and watchful, especially during the early stages of their innings. However, once set, batsmen can really score big on this ground.

The Eden Gardens also offers some turn for the spinners as the match progresses. This means that spinners can be crucial in determining the game's outcome. The pitch at the Eden Gardens also tends to deteriorate as the match progresses, with cracks developing on the surface and making life difficult for the batsmen.

Venue Details

The 9th T20 of the IPL 2023 will be played at Eden Gardens on 6th April from 7:30 pm onwards. The venue holds a capacity of 70000 spectators and has hosted 42 Tests, 34 ODIs & 12 T20Is so far. RCB has an unwanted record of scoring the lowest runs on this ground. KKR had bowled out them for 49 runs in 2017, where none of the RCB players reached the two-digit figure. 

Toss: To Bat

In 12 T20Is, the team batting second has won the game on 7 occasions, while the team batting first has won 5 times. But the recent games have shown team batting first has a better advantage. RCB had won the eliminator of the last season on the same ground. They had defended a target of 208 runs after an impressive century from Rajat Patidar. The team winning the toss should bat first. 

KKR vs RCB
Winning Prediction

Seeing both teams' first game clearly gives RCB an advantage over KKR. Faf is carrying the form of SA20 with some enormous hitting, while King Kohli has returned in the red color with added destruction. The 148 runs partnership in the first game showed a glimpse of what this duo can achieve. Though the bowling unit of both teams is not that strong, KKR has a better spin option.

Andre Russell loves to bat against RCB. He can be the difference.  

We predict that Royal Challengers Bangalore will defeat Kolkata Knight Riders.

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