Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are all set to host the Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their first home game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Freshly appointed skipper Nitish Rana’s witnessed a seven-run loss (DLS method) against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their campaign opener. On the other hand, RCB pulled off a dominating 8-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in their first home game of the IPL 2023.
Virat Kohli was off to a great start as he played an unbeaten knock of 82 off 49 during RCB’s chase, alongside skipper Faf du Plessis’ match-winning knock of 73 runs in 43 balls. However, RCB heads into Thursday’s game with the English pacer Reece Topley less likely to play due to injury.
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These two teams have met each other in a total of 30 games in the IPL so far, where Kolkata Knight Riders have managed to win 16 of those encounters and Bangalore won the remaining 14 games. Another nail-biting clash is anticipated between these two high-quality sides.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Jason Roy, who has been signed as a replacement for Shakib Al Hasan, won’t be able to take part in this game. He will be joining the squad directly in Ahmedabad for their next fixture. Lockie Ferguson wasn’t 100 percent for the first game but if fit, he can come into the XI to replace Tim Southee straightaway. Umesh Yadav is a favorable matchup for Glenn Maxwell, having dismissed the batter three times for 17 runs in the 20 balls he has bowled to him.
Probable XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson, Anukul Roy, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Impact players: Anukul Roy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, Kulwant Khejroilya
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Reece Topley has traveled to Kolkata but is unlikely to take part in the game against KKR after dislocating his shoulder in the first match. David Willey is set to replace him in the eleven. RCB will be wary of Andre Russell who has a very good record against them. The explosive batter has scored 395 runs in 13 innings against RCB, at an average of nearly 43 and a strike rate of 208.
Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shabaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, David Willey, Mohammed Siraj
Impact players: Suyash Prabhudessai, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Sonu Yadav and Finn Allen
Fantasy XI Suggestion 1:
Dinesh Karthik, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Faf du Plessis (vc), Virat Kohli, Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell (c), Tim Southee, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
Fantasy XI Suggestion 2:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli (vc), Glenn Maxwell, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Michael Bracewell, Andre Russell, Chakravarthy, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj
