IPL 2021 – RCB v KKR preview

RCB, a team whose season progress is always carefully followed by fans and critics alike, seemed to have put forward their best version, completing two wins in as many games. While it is a good start, Virat Kohli and team won’t be rejoicing just yet, having seen the changing crests and troughs of the tournament from close quarters. Their next challenge will be against KKR, led by Eoin Morgan, a team that has so far accumulated a win and a loss, with a net run-rate neither in the positive, nor negative.

It’ll eventually boil down to which team uses the Chennai surface better, a venue that has, so far, seen all tosses leading to the winning team bowling first, with only one of those teams winning a game.

Team news

RCB: With Devdutt Padikkal back in the squad, it’s a full-strength line-up for the Bangalore-based side. In the previous game against SRH, skipper Kohli was reprimanded by the match referee for breaching IPL’s code of conduct, and was charged with a level 1 breach, after TV cameras captured him kicking the boundary ropes and knocking down a dugout chair after being dismissed.

Here’s the complete IPL 2021 schedule, along with TV and live streaming details.

KKR: After their incredible loss to MI from a fairly winnable position (which even prompted their owner Shah Rukh Khan to issue an apology to their fans), KKR have been in the eye of the storm, and will be out to prove a point. The side went with an all-spin attack in the powerplay with Shakib Al Hasan, Harbhajan Singh and Varun CV, but could replace one of the two Indian players with Kuldeep Yadav to bring more variety in their attack, especially since Harbhajan has been used sparingly (he’s bowled just three overs so far).

Pitch and weather

The last two games at Chennai have been relatively low-scoring affairs, with teams winning by a margin of 10 runs or under three times in a row. In the last game, RCB managed to defend a total of 149 and given the pattern so far, and the fact that the pitch slows down, teams winning the toss will be inclined towards batting first. The temperature will average 26’C in the evening.

Predicted playing XI

RCB: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Dan Christian, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

KKR: Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Kuldeep Yadav/Harbhajan Singh, Varun CV, Prasidh Krishna