Mumbai: After facing a defeat in their opener, Royal Challengers Bangalore will like to return to winning ways when they face off with Kolkata Knight Riders in match-six of the Tata IPL at DY Patil Stadium here on Wednesday.
RCB faltered despite posting 200 plus runs on the board with the help of Faf du Plessis notching up 57-ball 88 runs knock against Punjab Kings in the last match, while Kolkata overpowered defending champions Chennai Super Kings after concerted efforts by Shreyas Iyer led side.
RCB bowlers leaked far too many runs and failed to restrict Punjab from crossing over the line of 206 runs.
In the 29 occasions both sides have met, Kolkata have the upper hand with 16 wins, while RCB have 13 wins, respectively. Since 2019, RCB have managed to script a 4-3 record in wins over Kolkata, and in their last encounter, RCB had lost to them by 4 wickets in an eliminator clash in 2021. Both sides are yet to lock horns at this venue.
Faf would like to continue the rich form, while his opening partner Anuj Rawat would aim to get a big score as he failed to do so, after he was off to a good start against Punjab.
Virat Kolhi would like to continue to hunt for his lost form that has deceived him for the last two years in all formats of the game, though he would like to draw inspiration from his last knock against Punjab.
The star batsman is on the verge of racing past the 800-run mark against Kolkata. He has 774 runs in 26 innings and slammed a lone hundred and four fifties.
Dinesh Karthik's role could be crucial to put up a big total on board, especially after his belligerent knock at the death in the last match.
Kolkata could be in for quite a challenge if RCB batsmen click once again, considering their performance in the last match.
For RCB bowlers, it would do a world of good if they quickly learn from their mistakes, especially after they were bludgeoned by Punjab batsmen all round the park.
It is testing time for Mohammed Siraj after he conceded 59 runs against Punjab, and also for Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga, because their performance would compliment RCB's dashing batsmen.
On the other hand, Kolkata did pretty well against Chennai. They restricted the Machchas first and then chased down perfectly well with contribution coming from everyone including Ajinkya Rahane who made 40-odd in his debut appearance for the franchise. He needs 15 more runs to complete 4000 runs in IPL.
Venkatesh Iyer will be itching to make an impression after he managed only 16 runs in the last match. Shreyas, Sam Billings and Sheldon Jackson would also like to make the cut in the middle order.
In the bowling department, Umesh Yadav excelled at Wankhede, but others including spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine failed to impress. They would like to put up an improved show. Allrounder Andre Russell would want to make difference between the two teams with his allround contribution.
In today’s match, RCB will be without the Australian trio of Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood and Jason Behrendorff. Kolkata also will be without Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch, but Tim Southee will be available.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Faf du Plessis (c), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Josh Hazlewood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Behrendorff, Suyash Prabhudesai, Chama Milind, Aneeshwar Gautam, Karn Sharma, David Willey, Luvnith Sisodia, Siddharth Kaul.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Aaron Finch, Abhijeet Tomar, Ajinkya Rahane, Baba Indrajith, Nitish Rana, Pratham Singh, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Ashok Sharma, Pat Cummins, Rasikh Dar, Shivam Mavi, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy, Aman Khan, Andre Russell, Anukul Roy, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohammed Nabi, Ramesh Kumar, Sunil Narine, Venkatesh Iyer, Sam Billings, Sheldon Jackson. Match starts at 7.30 PM. (UNI)