FANTASY
Follow UsRoyal Challengers Bangalore will take on Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 6 of the Indian Premier League 2022 at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Mumbai on Wednesday (March 30). The two teams had contrasting starts to the tournament. The likes of Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine helped Kolkata outclass defending champions Chennai Super Kings, while Faf du Plessis’ men were hammered by Punjab Kings despite posting 205 runs on the board.
HEAD TO HEAD
Overall 29 | RCB - 13 Wins | KKR - 16 Wins
Availability of overseas players
Kolkata will be without Aaron Finch and Pat Cummins who will only be available after April 6. They only went with three overseas stars in their previous game and could bring in one of Mohammad Nabi, Chamika Karunaratne or Tim Southee.
Talking about RCB, the newly married Glenn Maxwell will miss at least the first two matches. Meanwhile, Australian seamers Josh Hazlewood and Jason Behrendorff will only be available after April 6.
Team combination and ground details
The game between Punjab and Bangalore at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy turned out to be a high-scoring affair. RCB smashed 205/2 in their 20 overs but PBKS chased it down with an over to spare. The bowling wasn’t easy because of the dew, so it would be ideal to have as many top-order batters as possible in your team. The spinners might find it tough to operate on this surface but you would expect the likes of Wanindu Hasaranga, Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine to do well irrespective of the conditions.
Team suggestion
The team we've picked has a good mix of world-class batters and bowlers. But remember, while you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.
Captain
Bangalore might have lost their first game of the season but skipper Faf du Plessis was superb with the bat. The right-handed opener from South Africa smashed 88 off 57 deliveries and looked in solid touch. Since IPL 2020, only three players have scored 1000+ runs and du Plessis is the only overseas player on that list. Among oppositions that du Plessis has faced in the IPL, his average of 42.7 against KKR is his second highest.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts du Plessis to score 35-53 runs.
X-factors
Andre Russell simply loves playing against RCB. The ace all-rounder from West Indies averages 46.3 in 12 innings against Bangalore and has a strike rate of 215, the best for him against a team in the IPL. Also, his balls per six frequency of 4.9 against RCB is the best for any batter against an IPL franchise. He has scores of 31, 16, 65 and 48* in his last four innings against Bangalore. On top of that, he has also claimed eight wickets in his last seven encounters against RCB.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Russell to score 17-25 runs and pick up 2-3 wickets.
Just like Russell, Sunil Narine too has an impressive record against Bangalore. In eight innings against RCB, Narine has smoked 220 runs at an average of 31.43 and a strike rate of 196.4. On top of that, the mystery spinner from West Indies has also claimed 20 wickets in 15 innings at a strike rate of 18. He didn't get a wicket in the first game against CSK but conceded only 15 runs.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Narine to score 20-30 runs and pick up 0-1 wicket.
Here are the top-10 picks as per Criclytics projected points
Probable XIs
Bangalore - Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep/Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj.
Kolkata - Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi/Tim Southee, Varun Chakaravarthy.
