In the first reverse fixture of IPL 2023, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are set to welcome Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at their home stadium of M Chinaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
RCB head into this fixture with springs in their steps after recording back-to-back wins over Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their previous two fixtures.
But things are not the same for KKR as they are on a losing streak of four matches. Their latest defeat was against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday.
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The fortunes of the two teams has meant that while RCB are fifth on the IPL 2023 points table with four wins and three losses from the first seven matches, KKR are stuck on eighth spot managing only two wins while suffering five defeats from their first set of league games.
Safe to say that Wednesday's encounter is crucial for KKR to keep their playoff hopes alive. Another loss for the Nitish Rana-led side and things will become difficult for his side in the later stage of the tournament.
What transpired between KKR and RCB earlier in the season?
Things were quiet different when the two teams faced-off at the Eden Gardens earlier in the season. It was a match of fluctuating fortunes, where KKR defeated RCB by a handsome margin of 81 runs.
Batting first KKR were propelled to a strong total of 204/7 thanks to a fifty by wicketkeeper batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the top of the order and a late bluster by Rinku Singh (46 in 33 balls) and whirlwind knock of 68 in 29 deliveries by all-rounder Shardul Thakur.
RCB's response to the target of 205 was timid as the team was all-out on 123 thanks to a 4-wicket haul by Varun Chakaravarthy and three wickets by debutant Suyash Sharma.
The two teams have experienced contrasting sets of fortune since that match in Kolkata. While KKR's form has nosedived, RCB have been on the up.
Is Faf du Plessis' fitness a concern for RCB?
RCB's regular captain Faf du Plessis has been in sublime form this year. The former South African captain has hit five fifties and accumulated 405 runs to currently hold the Orange Cap. Such has been his form that he is 91 runs clear from his nearest competitor, Devon Conway, in the race to win the Orange Cap.
du Plessis's suberb run has eased the pressure on the likes of Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell, who themselves are in goo nick.
But there is a slight concern around du Plessis' fitness. The RCB skipper sustained a rib injury while batting against CSK. It meant that the 38-year-old was not fit enough to start in the playing XI for the matches against PBKS and RR. However, the team smartly made use of the Impact Player rule to utilize du Plessis only as a batter in the two games. With du Plessis not starting for RCB in the last two games, the burden of captaincy fell on the shoulders of Kohli.
The way the team has performed under Kohli in the last two matches, it looks like the team management will be happy with the way things are, i.e. Kohli continues to captain the team and du Plessis is used as a substitute.
Team's bowling attack also looks in good shape with fast bowler Mohammed Siraj being the joint-highest wicket-taker of the season with 13 scalps along with Arshdeep Singh. Medium pacer Harshal Patel has also touched double digits this season as his 3 wickets against RR took his wicket tally to 10.
Unsettled KKR
While RCB's playing XI is more or less stable, KKR still seem to be figuring out their best playing XI with half of the season done and dusted.
The team is tempering with the opening combination frequently. The team's opening pair in its last five matches have been these: Narayan Jagadeesan-Sunil Narine (vs CSK), Jason Roy-Liton Day (vs DC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz-Narayan Jagadeesan (vs MI, SRH and GT).
Only three batters seem to getting runs at consistent basis for the team at the moment. Venkatesh Iyer is the team's leading run scorer and has hit a hundred and a fifty. Rinku Singh has slammed two half centuries and captain Nitish Rana has notched one fifty.
In the bowling department, KKR have been too reliant on its spin troika of Varun Chakaravarthy, Suyash Sharma and Sunil Narine. Among the three spinners only Chakaravarthy has managed to hit the double digit mark this season.
The lack of wickets from other bowlers can be estimated from the fact that Rana, who is not a regular bowler, has the same number of wickets (2) as premium pacer Umesh Yadav.
Waning form of star all-rounder Andre Russell has also added to team's issues.
Predicted playing XIs
RCB predicted playing XI:
Virat Kohli (c), Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harshal Patel
KKR predicted playing XI
N Jagadeesan (wk), Jason Roy, Nitish Rana (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Suyash Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
CNBCTV18.com winner preeiction: RCB
Player to watch out for
Faf du Plessis (RCB)
RCB captain Faf du Plessis is middling the ball well this season. With 405 runs , he holds the Orange Cap. Most importantly, Virat Kohli seems to be enjoying batting at the top of the order with du Plessis. With the team back at its base, expect du Plessis to entertain the home fans with some more lusty hits.
Rinku Singh (KKR)
Only Rinku Singh seems to be the most consistent KKR batter right now. He has notched the scores of 4,46,48*, 58*, 18,6 and 53* in this campaign. Not to forget his five sixes in five balls against Gujarat Titans that helped KKR snatch a win from the jaws of defeat. Till the time Singh is batting, KKR's batting seems to be alive and kicking.
Pitch:
Expect a batting-friendly track at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Where to watch LIVE stream
The match will be telecast on the Star Sports Network and it will be digitally streamed on the JioCinema application. The game will commence at 7:30 pm on Wednesday.
(Edited by : Jerome Anthony)
