Preview: Bangalore ready to crush KKR in IPL 2021 encounter
Royal Challengers Bangalore are on a roll this year having won five of seven games this season. They will face Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday. The game will begin at 6:30 pm (India Time) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Probable Playing XI
RCB
Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
KKR
Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Sandeep Warrier.
Key performers
AB de Villiers
The former South African skipper is the backbone of RCB’s batting alongside captain Virat Kohli. The Kohli-de Villiers duo has won Bangalore countless games, but the South African stands head and shoulder above everyone when it comes to destroying opponents in a matter of a few overs.
With the kind of form he is in, it seems like de Villiers never parted ways with international cricket. Dismissing him would be KKR’s priority when they bowl.
Andre Russell
Andre Russell smashed a 14-ball half-century in the CPL a few weeks back to help Jamaica Tallawahs record the biggest win in the league’s history.
The Caribbean juggernaut is a batting powerhouse who can turn the game in KKR’s favour in a jiffy. However, his form hasn’t helped him accompanied by a couple of unfortunate dismissals.
If he can get going against the Bangalore bowlers, KKR won’t find crossing the line a difficult task. Not to forget that he’s equally effective with the ball as well. He holds the record for this season’s best bowling figures (5/15).
Harshal Patel
Patel has been Kohli’s go-to man this season when it comes to breaking partnerships and providing RCB breakthroughs. He has bagged a staggering 17 scalps in merely 7 matches. One thing, however, that he needs to work on are his death overs.
Patel has gone for 9.17 economy so far which is nothing short of costly. If he’s able to pitch the ball in block holes in final overs, Patel can cement a case for an international debut sooner than he expects.
Match prediction
Kohli’s men have a clear advantage over Morgan’s side in this game. While VK hasn’t been at his best so far, his batters and bowlers have registered top-notch performances.
Bangalore have shown team performance, saving the game with the bat and ball when the crunch moments arrive. But KKR have been exactly the opposite of it.
They have let games slip away from them, ending up with losses from winning positions. Hence, they linger at the seventh spot in the points table, having won only two of seven games. They need to get a win or two to climb the table, but RCB won’t make it easy on them.
