The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be locking horns with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in their opening game of the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Monday in Dubai. It is expected to be a mouth-watering contest between the two strong teams. With a win over KKR in the first phase of the tournament in India, RCB will be entering the game as favorites ahead of the clash. RCB is currently third in the points table and looks good to make the playoffs. They have won five games out of the seven they played.
With RCB being a star-studded squad, it will be a difficult task for the management to pick a XI. It will not be an easy task for the KKR will be facing RCB as they are currently reeling at seventh place in the points table with merely two wins from seven games. If they need to get back into contention for playoffs – they need to start winning. Also, not just winning – get a few wins on the trot. With captain Eoin Morgan, wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and allrounder Andre Russell, KKR’s middle-order look pretty heavy.
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And if KKR needs to get to a big score or chase down a big total – these three would be key in such situations. On the other hand for RCB, without a doubt, Virat Kohli will open the batting with Devdutt Padikkal. Rajat Patidar did a decent job earlier this year and would in all probability be backed to occupy the No 3 spot. At No 4 and 5, RCB has the big stars. In all likelihood, Australia’s explosive all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will come in and he would be followed by South African great AB de Villiers.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
KKR will be expected to play with two spinners – Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. In Pat Cummins’s absence, New Zealand’s Tim Southee will in all probability lead the KKR’s pace battery and that would also be a like-for-like move. Indian fast bowlers Prasidh Krishna and Kamlesh Nagarkoto will be the other two fast bowlers. KKR looks to be a well-balanced unit for the UAE leg, but again, they have a mountain to climb. It would be interesting to see if Kuldeep Yadav gets picked.
Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (Captain), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
The middle-order of RCB looks deadly as they have Shahbaz Ahmed would come in at No 6 and then Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga could make his IPL debut. Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj would be the fast bowlers, while Yuzvendra Chahal would be there as the other specialist spinner. Chahal and Hasaranga can produce a huge threat to the opposition.
Probable XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Fantasy Suggestion #1:
AB de Villiers (vc), Eoin Morgan, Nitish Rana, Devdutt Padikkal, Glenn Maxwell, Andre Russell (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Lockie Ferguson, and Varun Chakravarthy
Fantasy Suggestion #2:
AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tripathi, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell (c), Andre Russell (vc), Wanindu Hasaranga, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson and Varun Chakravarthy
