Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will meet for the first time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013. They will play against each other at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore on Thursday.
Overview:
Royal Challengers Bangalore have four points on the score table after two wins and one lost. After winning the first match against Mumbai Indians, they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad in the super over. They bounced back and beat the Hyderabad team on their home turf with their captain scoring an unbeaten 93 of just 47 balls.
The Kolkata Knight Riders have earned two points from two matches. They won the IPL 2013 opening game, beating the Delhi Daredevils by seven wickets on their home ground but failed to chase a modest total of 144 runs posted by Rajasthan Royals. The defending champions were bowled out for 125 in the 19th over.
Team News:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: They have won both the matches played at their home ground in the IPL sixth season. Chris Gayle led the team to a victory in the first match but failed in the next two matches but Virat Kohli had his share of limelight with an unbeaten 93 runs of 47 balls against SRH in the previous game. With the likes of Mayank Agarwal, AB de Villiers and Moises Henriques in the side, RCB are a strong steam.
RP Singh took three wickets in the previous match while Vinay Kumar, Muttiah Muralitharan and Murali Kartik took a wicket apiece. They also have bowlers like Jaidev Unadkat, Moises Henriques and Zaheer Khan at their disposal.
Kolkata Knight Riders: They lost to Rajasthan Royals in the previous match but they are no doubt a strong team. Skipper Gautam Gambhir is in good form, having made good contribution in the last two matches, and Eoin Morgan scored 51 in the previous match. With Manvinder Bisla, Jacques Kallis, Manoj Tiwary and Yusuf Pathan in the batting line-up, they are a formidable team. The arrival of hard-hitting Brendon McCullum will boost the confidence of the team.
In bowling department, they have found a possible game turner in Sunil Narine, who has taken six wickets in two matches, conceding just 41 runs in eight overs. They also have the likes of Brett Lee, Shami Ahmed, Jacques Kallis and Raja Bhatia.
Previous Meetings:
The teams have met 10 times in the past, and they have five matches each.
Prediction:
Kolkata Knight Riders are a strong team but Royal Challengers Bangalore are a more balanced side with batsmen who can turn a match. Royal Challengers Bangalore have home ground advantage and should win on Thursday.
SQUADS
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (captain), AB De Villiers, Abhimanyu Mithun, Abhinav Mukund, Andrew McDonald, Arun Karthik, Cheteshwar Pujara, Chris Gayle, Christopher Barnwell, Daniel Christian, Daniel Vettori, Harshal Patel, Jaidev Unadkat, K P Appanna, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Moises Henriques, Murali Kartik, Muttiah Muralitharan, Pankaj Singh, Prasanth Parameswaran, R Vinay Kumar, Ravi Rampaul, Rudra Pratap Singh, S Aravind, Sandeep Warrier, Saurabh Tiwary, Sheldon Jackson, Sunny Sohal, Syed Mohammad, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Vijay Zol, Zaheer Khan
Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir (c), Brendon McCullum, Brett Lee, Debabrata Das, Eoin Morgan, Iqbal Abdulla, Jacques Kallis, James Pattinson, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Manoj Tiwary, Manvinder Bisla, Shami Ahmed, Pradeep Sangwan, Rajat Bhatia, Ryan McLaren, Ryan ten Doeschate, Sachithra Senanayake, Sarabjit Ladda, Shakib Al Hassan, Sunil Narine, Yusuf Pathan
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 4:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
