IPL 2021 Preview: KKR Vs RCB- Kolkata Knight Riders will face off against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 31st match of the Indian Premier League. KKR is in seventh place in the points table at present. They will want to win and go up the points table, to keep their chances of qualifying for a top-four finish.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

The Kolkata Knight Riders have lost five and of their last seven games. They cannot afford to lose any more or else the campaign this season is going to be a brief chapter. The bad news for Kolkata was when Pat Cummins opted out of the UAE leg. But now that he’s been replaced by Tim Southee, the side looks balanced. However, it is likely that KKR will go with Lockie Ferguson, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine and skipper Eoin Morgan as their four overseas options. The batting mainly depends on their Indian talent in Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi at the top and then Dinesh Karthik as a finisher.

Kolkata Knight Riders Squad: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan(c), Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik(w), Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Harbhajan Singh, Tim Southee, Shakib Al Hasan, Ben Cutting, Karun Nair, Pawan Negi, Kuldeep Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sheldon Jackson, Sandeep Warrier, Tim Seifert, Rinku Singh, Venkatesh Iyer, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Vaibhav Arora

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Royal Challengers Bangalore have the longest list of replacements for the UAE leg. Washington Sundar is out injured while Daniel Sams, Adam Zampa, Finn Allen and Kane Richardson have opted out. Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Tim David, George Garton and Akash Deep are the replacements. Their batting did look settled with Virat Kohli at the top followed by Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers. Devdutt Padikkal’s form is something the team will surely bank on.

For death bowling, RCB seems to be reliant on whatever Kyle Jamieson and Harshal Pate have to offer. Kohli’s form can be another concern.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Squad: Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers(w), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Daniel Christian, Dushmantha Chameera, Sachin Baby, Srikar Bharat, Navdeep Saini, Pavan Deshpande, Mohammed Azharuddeen, George Garton, Suyash Prabhudessai, Tim David, Akash Deep

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore have faced each other 27 times in the IPL. Kolkata has won 14 matches while Bangalore has won on 13 occasions.

IPL 2021 PREDICTION:

Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore have shared an intense rivalry starting from the very first game of the IPL. KKR is desperate to win and need the points. They will want to push for a win and will hope that the players deliver. Their leadership issues are not really helping their cause. The team will want to overcome that if they wish to make any further impact in the IPL 2021 tournament.

However, when it comes to choosing, RCB does look like a much more dominant side. They should seal the game.

Date and Time:

September 20, 2021 (Monday), 7:30 PM IST

Venue:

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi