Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders
In the second Playoffs match, Kolkata Knight Riders will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore for a spot in Qualifiers 2. However, this will be a knockout match as both the teams finished in 4th and 3rd position respectively. Virat Kohli led team will be looking to defeat Eoin Morgan boys as Bangalore has played quality cricket all over the tournament but Kolkata made a superb comeback in the second leg of the tournament. In the points table, Bangalore had 18 points but still failed to grab the second spot because of the poor Net Run Rate as compared to Chennai.
Head to Head Records
Virat Kohli and Eoin Morgan are always involved in high-intensity matches and will be looking to deliver another match just like that.
- Matches Played: 28 matches
- RCB Won: 13 matches
- KKR Won: 15 matches
- Tie: 0 matches
When these two teams last met, Kolkata won the match easily and hence will be having an edge over the Virat Kohli team.
Sharjah Cricket Stadium Record
Teams chasing at Sharjah Cricket Stadium have done well because of the smaller dimensions as compared to other grounds.
- Matches Played: 30
- Matches won by Batting first team: 14
- Matches won by Chasing team: 16
- No Result: 0
Kolkata Knight Riders
The second leg proved to be a vital turnaround for Kolkata Knight Riders as they managed to win their last 5 matches out of the 7 they played. For them, it will be crucial to play quality cricket as Royal Challengers Bangalore can prove to be a dangerous team for them in Sharjah.
Predicted Playing XI
Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik(wk), Eoin Morgan
©, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi
Bench Strength
Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sandeep Warrier, Pawan Negi, Tim Seifert, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Prasidh Krishna, Tim Southee, Shakib al Hasan
Players to watch out
The young players of Kolkata Knight Riders have taken them into the playoffs along with the experience of Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik. Even in the bowling department, Shivam Mavi and Lockie Ferguson have done well along with Varun Chakravarthy and Sunil Narine.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
A last-ball win against Delhi Capitals would have surely led the team more confident. However, Royal Challengers Bangalore will be having a tough fight against Kolkata Knight Riders as it will be an eliminator and they have to win if they want to go to the next round.
Predicted Playing XI
Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), Glenn Maxwell, AB De Villiers (wk), Dan Christian, George Garton, Srikar Bharat, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmad
Bench Strength
Tim David, Navdeep Saini, Pavan Deshpande, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddin,, Suyesh Prabhudessai, Dushmantha Chameera, Akash Deep, Kyle Jamieson, Wanindu Hasaranga
Players to Watch Out
A strong middle order with two firing openers is what makes Royal Challengers Bangalore the top contenders for an IPL trophy this year. Glenn Maxwell and Srikar Bharat have done well for them. Even in bowling, Harshal Patel along with Yuzvendra Chahal has been outstanding throughout the season.
Final Predictions
A match between two powerhouse teams will always be exciting for the fans. However, the way Royal Challengers Bangalore is playing this season, it looks like they have set their eyes on the big prize. So we predict that Royal Challengers Bangalore will beat Kolkata Knight Riders in a thriller to end Kolkata’s campaign. However, Kolkata Knight Riders will be looking to turn things upside down in their favour.