On April 26, 2023, in match number 36 of the Indian Premier League 2023 at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will travel to Bengaluru to play Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) for the second time.
After losing to Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings back-to-back, Kolkata Knight Riders will enter this match with a losing record. With two victories from seven games, they are currently in eighth place in the points standings. When the two teams last faced off, KKR crushed RCB by 81 runs. Sunil Narine and Andre Russell, two of their dependable international sensations, have yet to make an impression in the current IPL season.
Venkatesh Iyer has been outstanding at the plate, scoring 254 runs at an average of 36.29 in as many as seven games, and Rinku Singh has also scored a few half-centuries. Jason Roy has also improved in both of the games he has played, as in just his second game against CSK while chasing a challenging 236 runs, he smashed the second-fastest fifty off just 19 balls.
For KKR, Varun Chakravarthy has taken 10 wickets in as many as seven games. In order to advance more effectively in upcoming games, they would seek improved team performances and would need their two dependable players to step up.
Here are the three player-battles to keep an eye out for in the KKR vs. RCB match
1. Umesh Yadav vs face Faf du Plessis
With a quick-fire 73 off 43 balls, RCB captain Faf du Plessis took the initiative for his team against Mumbai. The Proteas player appeared to be in excellent shape as she hit the ball all over the field.
Du Plessis will face the raw pace of Umesh Yadav and try to maintain his recent success against the Knight Riders. The experienced senior pacer for Team India is a formidable opponent in these circumstances.
Umesh can swing the ball both ways, which makes him a threat to Bangalore’s starting lineup. A treat would be to see the powerplay tackle by Du Plessis on Umesh.
2. Sunil Narine vs Virat Kohli
Since ending his century drought last year in the Asia Cup, the former RCB captain has been in excellent form. Virat Kohli has appeared to be in control both on the international stage and in the IPL. He recently played a magnificent knock (82* off 49 balls) against the Mumbai Indians.
Given Kohli’s current form, KKR captain Nitish Rana is likely to use the powerplay to introduce Sunil Narine in order to neutralize any threat. The West Indian spinner is a challenging bowler to stop because of all the tricks up his sleeve.
When two of the game’s current greats compete against one another to advance their teams, it will be exciting to watch.
3 Andre Russell vs Karn Sharma
Currently, one of the cricket ball’s most powerful hitters is Andre Russell. During his 19-ball 35-run innings against Punjab, he displayed some of his potentials by hitting three boundaries and two sixes.
When Russell enters the batting order, Du Plessis may be tempted to use leg-spinner Karn Sharma. It will be challenging for the West Indian all-rounder to hit against the line because the veteran spinner, who took two wickets in the previous match, will take the ball away from the batter.
It will be interesting to see how Russell stops Karn and makes some quick runs for his team.