Follow UsKolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all set to clash against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on March 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the opening match of the 18th edition of the competition. After a dominant last season, the KKR were crowned the undisputed champions.
KKR will be looking forward to adding to the winning streak with wins in the last four consecutive games against RCB. With a favourable 20-14 head-to-head record, the defending champions will be eager to kick off their title defence with a victory.
KKR: Ajinkya Rahane (c), Rinku Singh, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Venkatesh Iyer, Ramandeep Singh, Andre Russell, Anrich Nortje, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Spencer Johnson, Luvnith Sisodia, Anukul Roy, Moeen Ali, Chetan Sakariya
RCB: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma, Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Dar, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee
KKR: Sunil Narine, Quinton de Kock (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Anrich Nortje, Varun Chakaravarthy, Vaibhav Arora (IP)
RCB: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Devdutt Padikkal, Liam Livingstone, Krunal Pandya, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Swapnil Singh/Rasikh Dar Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal (IP)
In India, it will be telecast live on Star Sports Network, and it will also be streamed live on JioHotstar.
The game will start at 7:30 PM (IST) in India.
You can buy the tickets for the games on KKR’s official website and Book My Show.
Safe options: Varun Chakaravarthy (KKR), Virat Kohli (RCB), Sunil Narine (KKR)
Risky options: Harshit Rana (KKR), Krunal Pandya (RCB), Josh Hazelwood (RCB)
Matches: 34 | KKR 20 | RCB 14| Tie/NR 0/0
Last 5 matches, KKR won 4| RCB 1| NR 0
Both sides have dynamic bowling attacks, although Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine can prove the point of difference. Except Rajat Patidar, very few RCB batters are good against spin in this format and hence, KKR would be favourites starting this game.
Virat Kohli has been the best batter amongst both teams, scoring 8004 runs at an average of 38.67 and at a strike rate of 132.
Sunil Narine is the best IPL bowler amongst both sides and has picked 180 wickets at an average of 25.4 and an economy of just 6.7.
The pitch at Eden Gardens has been great to bat in the last season. The pace bowlers who used their height and bowl a lot of hard lengths mixing their seam position, and the spinners who remained disciplined and wily, were able to extract some help as well. However, expect a high-scoring match tomorrow in Kolkata.
The temperatures will be pleasant in Kolkata tomorrow, ranging in the 20s. However, there are 65% chances of rain in the latter half of the day so the game can see some small disruptions. However, no thunderstorms are predicted.