Preview: M27 - KKR vs RCB
What
Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore will come up against each other for the first time in VIVO IPL 2017.
KKR sit in the top half of the standings with four wins and two defeats. In their most-recent outing, the Gautam Gambhir-team were handed a sound thrashing by the Gujarat Lions, who chased down 188 quite comfortably. There is no reason for KKR to ring the alarm bells despite that defeat; their gamble at the top of the innings is working – with Sunil Narine prepared to attack the opposition from the word go, while they have three batsmen - Gambhir, Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey – striking the ball well.
Royal Challengers Bangalore have had a four-day break since their win over the Gujarat Lions. The Virat Kohli-led team – a crowd favourite no matter where they play in the country – is languishing in the bottom half of the VIVO IPL 2017 standings with just two wins from six matches. What the RCB players have done so far isn’t justice to what they are capable of; it is not often that you will see a side consisting of Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson – even if they have all not played together – have an overall scoring rate of 8.07 – the least among all the eight teams this season. RCB will be keen to stitch together a series of wins, and they have the opportunity to begin from Kolkata.
When
23 April 2017, 2000 Hrs IST
Where
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
The Protagonists
The RCB bowlers will have done well to spend a little time figuring out what fields they will set and what lines they will bowl to Sunil Narine after his blitzes at the top. The two Karnataka boys – Robin Uthappa and Manish Pandey – have batted fluently and will look to add to their respective aggregates.
For RCB, Chris Gayle and captain Virat Kohli will need to score the bulk of the runs – just like they did in the previous match against the Gujarat Lions. AB de Villiers – if he has recovered from the injury that forced him to miss the previous match – will be another important cog in the wheel for RCB where runs are concerned.
Match within the match
KKR’s two spinners – Sunil Narine and Kuldeep Yadav – bowling to Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle promises to be an interesting contest. In the context of the IPL, Gayle has a strike-rate of 88.88 against Narine, while Virat Kohli has a strike-rate of 92.98 against KKR’s overseas spinner.
Head to Head
Overall: Matches played – 18, Kolkata Knight Riders Won – 9, Royal Challengers Bangalore Won – 9
In Kolkata: Matches played – 7, Kolkata Knight Riders Won – 4, Royal Challengers Bangalore Won – 3
Trivia
In the three matches played at the Eden Gardens so far this season, quick bowlers have taken a total of 23 wickets (Econ 9.56), while spinners have taken 10 wickets (Econ 7.93).
The average strike-rate of KKR’s opening partnership this season is 193.62. In comparison, the average strike-rate of RCB’s opening partnership this season is 137.44
What Next
For KKR: Away Fixture against Rising Pune Supergiant, April 26
For RCB: Return Fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad, April 25