It is the 14 edition of the Indian Premier League, being held in India. Royal Challengers Bangalore is being led by Virat Kohi, while the side is still in the hunt for its maiden IPL title. Meanwhile, Kolkata Knight Riders is a former two-time champion, currently led by Eoin Morgan.
The Indian Premier League 2021 is already off to a flier, with most of the games turning out to be thrillers. In Match 10, Royal Challengers Bangalore would clash against former champion Kolkata Knight Riders at the Ma Chidambaram (Chepauk) Stadium in Chennai on Sunday.
RCB is seemingly in an unstoppable form, having won both the games it has played so far, while KKR has had a mixed start, winning and losing each. Nonetheless, this tie expects to be a thriller, as we present the preview of the same.
Current from
As said above, RCB has won both its games. However, judging by how RCB won the two games by a close margin, it does not seem unbeatable. KKR won its opening game convincingly, while its loss in the next match is a matter of concern, as it was in a specific winning position but triggered a massive batting collapse.
Team combination
For RCB, the team is batting-heavy. However, with more capped talents in the bowling, the department is equally heavy. Also, how RCB managed to pull off a stellar bowling performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad was indeed commendable. As a result, a bowling dominated combination is expected against KKR.
Meanwhile, for KKR, it too is slightly heavy on its bowling. Also, with the capped talent evenly distributed, KKR would rely primarily on its bowling. Consequently, it would be a clash of the bowling departments in the game.
Injury concerns
None of the sides has any new injury concern.
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Head-to-head
In 27 clashes between the two, KKR has the upper hand, winning 15 against RCB's 12. In 26 IPL clashes, KKR leads 14-12, while in India, of the 22 games, KKR has a lead of 14-8. The two would be playing together in Chennai for the first time.
Weather and pitch report
The weather in Chennai would be hot again, with a temperature around 34 degrees and humidity around 66%. As for the track, it might just get a little challenging to bat later in the innings, as has been the case in the past few games. Thus, the team winning the toss might just choose to bat first, while bowling first should not be a bad option either, considering the dew factor.
Probable XI
RCB: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Dan Christian, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Yuzvendra Chahal.
KKR: Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Shakib Al Hasan, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Harbhajan Singh and Prasidh Krishna.
Fantasy XI
Batsmen: Kohli, Rana (vc), Tripathi, Gill- Kohli, Gill and Rana are sure to dominate on top, while Tripathi can bat at number four in the middle. Also, considering Rana's flawless form since the beginning of the tournament, he is our vice-captain.
Wicketkeeper: De Villiers- He is a no-brainer here, especially for his lethal striking abilities with the bat.
All-rounders: Maxwell, Russell, Ahmed- While Maxwell is definite to fire with the bat, Russell is sure to contribute with the ball and can get going big with the bat on his day. Ahmed nailed it with his spin bowling at the latter stage and is likely to be a surprise package in this tie.
Bowlers: Cummins, Harshal, Krishna- In an all-out pace attack, all the three are sure to deliver, while Harshal's consistency in the past two games makes him the skipper.
Match details
Date and day: April 18, 2021 (Sunday)
Venue: MA Chidambaram (Chepauk) Stadium, Chennai
Time: 3.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi (Also available in HD, along with regional languages)
Where to watch (Online): Hotstar
