IPL 2023: Royal Challengers Bangalore will host Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday. While the visitors have been on a losing spree lately, they would aim to turn their fortunes around against a confident host.

Former two-time champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will be desperate to bring its flagging campaign back on track. At the same time, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will look to shrug off the overdependence on its top three batters when the two teams clash in the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

The two-time champion has looked clueless in its last four outings, losing at home while also on the road. The Nitish Rana-led side is currently in the seventh spot with just two wins from seven games. The losses can be pegged down to the shoddy performance of KKR batters. It needs its regular skipper Shreyas Iyer and star all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan.

In the 49-run loss against former four-time champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday, KKR batters were expected to rise to the occasion, chasing a 230-plus score. Instead, the top-order, comprising the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Rana and N Jagadeesan, crumbled under pressure. KKR has also struggled to zero in on its opening pair. The former champion has shuffled around with Sunil Narine, Jagadeesan, Litton Das, Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the top.

CATCH ALL IPL 2023 UPDATES HERE

Their decision to send Narine to open the innings alongside Jagadeesan against CSK failed, as the West Indian departed for a duck. Had it not been for Roy and Rinku Singh's fifties, the margin of defeat would have been worse. The duo's performance is the silver lining in an otherwise dismal show against CSK.

The big-hitting Andre Russell needs to improve in his role as the finisher. He has yet to be able to hit the big shots, and the fact that KKR sends him at number seven or eight has not been helpful. The all-rounder's fitness is also a concern. He hasn't bowled his quota of four overs even once this season, as he often gets injured while bowling.

But KKR will walk into the game with a slight psychological edge, having defeated RCB by 81 runs earlier this season. Meanwhile, RCB will be confident after eking out a seven-run win over the then-table-toppers, the former champion Rajasthan Royals (RR), and would be eager to extend their winning streak.

ALSO WATCH: IPL 2023 - Kohli offended with intruder breaking security for selfie with Anushka; couple plays badminton

Faf du Plessis and his troops have won four of their seven games, including the last two, and find themselves just outside the top four in the fifth spot. RCB's wins have come on the back of sensational performers by a few players. Du Plessis has been in sublime form and has raised several centuries stands with Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell, who are also in good nick.

Such is the dependence on the three that only they do the bulk of the scoring while the other batters still need to fire. More is expected from the middle order comprising Dinesh Karthik, Mahipal Lomlor, Shahbaz Ahmed and Suyash Prabhudessai. Among bowlers, Mohammed Siraj has been in sensational form. The Purple Cap holder has conceded at 7.17 runs per over and has bowled the most dot balls -- 89 this season.

Wayne Parnell and Harshal Patel are ably supporting Siraj. The addition of Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga has also done wonders for the previously struggling RCB bowling unit. RCB was undone by KKR spinners earlier this season, and they will have to be cautious while playing the likes of Varun Chakravarthy, Suyash Sharma and Narine.

ALSO READ: IPL 2023 - Virat Kohli, RCB players fined again for slow over-rate during IPL clash against RR

Squads:
RCB: Faf du Plessis (c), Akash Deep, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat, Avinash Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Siddarth Kaul, Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajan Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karn Sharma, Himanshu Sharma, Sonu Yadav, Vijaykumar Vyshak and David Willey.
KKR: Nitish Rana (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy, Anukul Roy, Rinku Singh, N Jagadeesan, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, David Wiese, Kulwant Khejroliya, Litton Das, Mandeep Singh and Jason Roy.

Match details
Date and day: April 26, 2023 (Wednesday)
Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Time: 7.30 PM (IST)
Where to watch (TV): Star Sports 1 and other Star Sports regional language channels - Also available in HD
Where to watch (Online): JioCinema