Two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will lock horns against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Monday in Eliminator of IPL 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Ground. Both RCB and KKR have played good cricket in the UAE leg and will hope to produce their best cricket and trump one another.
RCB have looked like a complete side this season with the addition of Glenn Maxwell in the middle order. Although they had their fair share of ups and downs, RCB have managed to come back every time they were left stranded.
Captain Kohli has his sights firmly set on tonight’s challenge. 👀🎯 #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #IPL2021 #RCBvKKR #PlayOffs pic.twitter.com/UG53scFTwr
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) October 11, 2021
This could well be Kohli’s final match as RCB captain and that’s a dangerous prospect. It gives the players the additional hunger to ensure Kohli steps down from the position with a title in hand.
On the other hand, KKR have finally made it to the playoffs after missing out by inches in the last two seasons. Ever since they arrived in the UAE, the Knight Riders have played an aggressive brand of cricket that suits their plight. However, the absence of all-rounder Andre Russell has hurt them badly in achieving a perfect balance in their playing XI.
However, Venkatesh Iyer has provided the much-needed firepower at the top and with Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi chipping in with useful contributions whenever needed has made KKR the team to beat in this tournament.
𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙙!
☝️ word for this fantastic Mavi delivery 😍@ShivamMavi23 #KKR #AmiKKR #KorboLorboJeetbo #আমিKKR #IPL2021 pic.twitter.com/nx7zOHMFne
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) October 10, 2021
RCB vs KKR – Head to Head
| MATCHES | RCB | KKR |
| 28 | 13 | 15 |
Pitch Report
The pitch will again be tough to score on with plenty of assistance for the bowlers but both RCB and KKR have proved it’s a track where a score in excess of 150 can be made and defended.
Predicted Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Daniel Christian, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, George Garton, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) – Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib Al Hasan/Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy
RCB vs KKR – Match Prediction – Who will win the match?
Both RCB and KKR have played some thorough cricket throughout the competition to make it to the playoffs. This will be the first time both these teams will play against each other in the playoffs.
While both teams have the pedigree to beat each other on any given day, KKR will have a slight advantage to progress through to Qualifier 2.
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