KKR vs RCB Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 36
Updated - 21 Apr 2024, 02:36 PM
The KKR vs RCB reverse fixture of IPL 2024 will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, April 21. The Knight Riders are on their home round where they will be playing five back-to-back games that started with the match against LSG.
KKR vs RCB Date and Venue
The KKR vs RCB match will be played at the Eden Gardens next Sunday, from 3.30 pm IST. This is KKR's third home game on the trot and they play five before moving out of town.
KKR vs RCB Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 36
Kolkata Knight Riders
KKR won three on the bounce to start their IPL 2024 campaign. This was their best start to an IPL season by far. However, starting with the loss to CSk, they have now lost two games out of the next three they have played. Heading into this game they are still placed second on the points table.
However, a few concerns are cropping up. Mitchell Starc's form with the ball is the biggest of them all. He has picked up five wickets so far at the cost of 232 runs in the season. In the last game against RR, he went for 50 without a wicket.
The batting lineup looks balanced with the openers firing. The middle-order has scored runs as well. The team is awaiting the return of Nitish Rana who is out with a finger injury. He is expected to return in the game against RCB.
KKR Squad
Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Jason Roy, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Andre Russell, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Varun Chakaravarthy, KS Bharat, Chetan Sakariya, Mitchell Starc, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Ramandeep Singh, Sherfane Rutherford, Manish Pandey, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Gus Atkinson, Sakib Hussain.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Bangalore is placed last on the points table heading into this game. Against SRH, their bowlers went for 287 runs, which was the new record for the most runs scored in the first innings of the IPL. RCB responded strongly with 262 in the chase as SRH won the match by 25 runs.
The concerns in the RCB camp are much more serious than that of KKR. At the moment, they are placed last on the points table heading into this game.
Their skipper Faf du Plessis is at a loss for words after every loss finding it hard to explain why is the team going for so many runs. They now have nine more games remaining and need to get to 16 points to make it to the playoffs which seems tough at the moment.
RCB Squad
Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.
KKR vs RCB Key Battles
Virat Kohli vs Mitchell Starc
Once again Kohli will come face to face with Mitchell Starc in the IPL. The former RCB skipper scored an unbeaten 83 in the previous match against KKR and scored a few boundaries off Starc. The Aussies pacer will look to settle the score this time around.
Dinesh Karthik vs Sunil Narine
The way DK has been batting in the final overs this season, KKR might want to utilize their spinners against him and Narine and Chakravarthy. The duo can come together to dismiss the key batter for RCB in the lower-order.
Faf du Plessis vs Vaibhav Arora
Vaibhav Arora with early movement and swing might be KKR's option to be used against Faf du Plessis who is edgy to start. His prodigious inswings might be useful in knocking him over.
KKR vs RCB Key Players
For KKR, Sunil Phil Salt, Shreyas Iyer, Rinku Singh, and Andre Russell will be the key with the bat. With the ball, all eyes will be on Mitchell Starc the spin twins Narine and Chakravarthy, and the young Indian pacers Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana.
For RCB, Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, and Dinesh Karthik will be the key batters. With the ball, Mohd Siraj, Yash Dayal, and the left-arm pace of Reece Topley will be key.
KKR vs RCB Weather and Pitch Report
The weather conditions for the KKR vs RCB on Sunday are expected to be hot and humid. It is an afternoon game and hence the temperatures will be close to 38 to 40 degrees. The conditions will be humid as well.
Talking about the pitch, the last time when KKR played their day game against LSG, they prepared a dry wicket that assisted spinners. LSG reached 161 and KKR chased it successfully. The wicket should be prepared on the same lines.
Conclusion
KKR would love to come back to winning ways at home after a blip against RR in their next game against RCB. For the visitors, who have already lost to KKR previously in the season, the season ahead looks tough.
Also Read: MI vs CSK Match Prediction– Who Will Win Today IPL Match? IPL 2024 Match 29
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KKR vs RCB Virat Kohli Gautam Gambhir IPL Kolkata Knight Riders Royal Challengers Bangalore
