Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) had a great start to their tournament with a resounding victory over Mumbai Indians. They will be seeking to maintain their winning form in their second match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Thursday, April 6, at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
However, Kolkata did not have an ideal start to their IPL 2023 campaign, losing their first game to Punjab Kings by seven runs (via DLS Method). KKR were 146/7 after 16 overs, chasing a target of 192, when rain stopped play. As a result, they fell seven runs short of the DLS par score.
The team led by Nitish Rana is determined to bounce back from their defeat and secure their first win. Kolkata has traditionally held an advantage over RCB in IPL head-to-head records, having previously restricted Bangalore to their lowest-ever IPL score of 49.
On the flip side, this will be RCB’s first away match of the season, and they will be hoping to replicate their dominant performance from the opening game. In that match, all of their bowlers played a crucial role in limiting MI to 171/7 in the first innings. RCB’s batsmen then chased down the target with ease, thanks to outstanding innings from Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis, with 22 balls remaining.
KKR vs RCB Match Details
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 9th Match, IPL 2023
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Date & Time: The match will be played on Thursday, April 6, at 7:30 PM IST.
Telecast & Streaming Details: The match will be broadcasted on Star Sports Network and can be streamed on JioCinema.
Pitch Report: The pitch at Eden Gardens has traditionally been a good batting surface, with spinners becoming more effective in the latter stages of the innings. Out of the 12 T20Is played at the venue, teams batting second have emerged victorious on seven occasions. The highest score at the venue is 201/5 by Pakistan against Bangladesh. Considering the previous results, the captain winning the toss is likely to choose to bowl first.
Probable Playing XIs: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR): Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mandeep Singh, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): 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
Probable Best Performers:
Probable Best Batter: Virat Kohli started his IPL 2023 campaign with an impressive knock of 82* off 49 balls, helping RCB comfortably chase down the target of 172 in the first game. Kohli is in excellent form across all formats and is expected to continue his good run against KKR.
Probable Best Bowler: Mohammed Siraj displayed exceptional swing bowling in the opening match, not allowing the Mumbai Indians batters to score freely. He will be looking to provide an early breakthrough with the new ball and pick up crucial wickets at the top once again.
