With just two wins in seven games so far, Kolkata Knight Riders are on the verge of getting into a territory that will leave them highly vulnerable, getting into the latter half of the league stages of IPL 2021.
The problems that have plagued them - chiefly a misfiring top order - are not too dissimilar to the problems of Royal Challengers Bangalore. But with Devdutt Padikkal offsetting a number of those issues, RCB has managed to sail through unscathed.
But those problems did come up in RCB's previous outing, a loss against the Punjab Kings, which could still see a change in approach, or personnel.
These problems, notwithstanding, RCB come into the game with a distinct difference in confidence. After all, they're third in the points table, with five wins in seven games. But they'd be wary of the few cracks opening up with the change in grounds and conditions.
Harshal Patel who found his cutters/yorkers yielding only at a rate of 5.27 on the sluggish Chennai tracks in the death overs has seen it jump to 14.87 on the other grounds so far.
But will a troubled KKR be able to cash in on such advantages?
When: KKR vs RCB, May 3, 2021, 19:30 IST
Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
What to expect: The pitch has not been the easiest one to bat in the tournament but with disproportional boundary sizes, batsmen have shown that there can be success had by targeting the shorter straight boundaries.
Head to Head: KKR 14 - 13 RCB. When they clashed previously in the season, Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers hit quickfire 70s that set up a comfortable win for RCB.
Did you know?
- This will be Virat Kohli's 200th IPL game
- AB de Villiers has been dismissed thrice against spin in IPL 2021 but never against pace
Yuzvendra Chahal has dismissed Dinesh Karthik thrice in just 30 balls
What they said:
"If you can't change a man, change the man" - Brendon McCullum, KKR's head coach, has had enough with players not playing the way he wanted them to.
Team Watch
Kolkata Knight Riders
Player availability: While there is little concern about player availability, KKR's coach Brendon McCullum had promised some changes after their previous outing.
Tactics & Matchups: In a bid to increase their scoring at the top and in the powerplay, we might see a few changes from KKR, maybe even see a relook at Narine at the top if it provides them the right balance. There is a chance of an Indian batsman - the likes of Karun Nair, Gurkeerat Singh, or Venkatesh Iyer - having a look-in as well.
Probable XI: Nitish Rana/Karun Nair, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine/Shakib Al Hasan, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Player availability: There are no concerns over player availability, as it stands, for RCB.
Tactics & Matchups: Will they be willing to give another chance to Rajat Patidar despite his struggle in the previous game? Will Washington Sundar earn his place back given the presence of enough left-handers in the line-up? These could be the primary questions that RCB will look to answer while planning for the game.
Probable XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed/Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
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