Cricket lovers in Ranchi will finally witness the Indian Premier League (IPL) frenzy as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at their adopted ground JSCA International Cricket Stadium, Ranchi on Sunday. It is the 60th match of the IPL 2013 and the second meeting for the teams.
Overview:
Both the teams are getting into the game at the back of winning their previous respective matches. RCB defeated KKR by eight wickets in their previous meeting this season, so the latter will be looking forward to take revenge on Sunday at their adopted ground.
KKR are placed in the seventh position with 10 points after winning five of the 13 matches played. They defeated Pune Warriors India by 46 runs in the previous match after conceding 65-run lost to Mumbai Indians in their earlier encounter. The defending champions have a very bleak chance of making it to the Play-Offs even if they win all the remaining matches.
RCB are placed in the fourth position with 16 points after winning eight of the 13 games played so far. They come into this game after beating Delhi Daredevils by four runs. They are locked in a neck-to-neck race with three other teams vying for the Play-Offs. Win against KKR will take them closer to the last four.
Previous Meetings:
RCB have 6-5 win-loss record against KKR. The Bangalore franchise defeated KKR in their earlier encounter earlier this season by eight wickets.
Team News:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Skipper Gautam Gambhir scored a half century in the previous match after poor performance in the earlier five innings, and it will boost the confidence of the team. Ryan Ten Doeschate (31) also showed some spark, helping the team post a decent total. Manvinder Bisla, Eoin Morgan and Jacques Kallis had contributed with their bats in a few matches. The top-order needs to perform and put up a big total as RCB are capable of scoring big.
Lakshmipathy Balaji took three wickets, while Iqbal Abdulla, Jacques Kallis and Sunil Narine took two wickets apiece in the previous match. They bowled out PWI for 105 in the previous match which will boost their confidence. They will be expected to put up a similar show on Sunday.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Skipper Virat Kohli's unbeaten 99 and Ab De Villiers' 32 (not out) helped the team post 183 on the board in the previous game and they will be expected to repeat the show against KKR. Chris Gayle is one man who can change the course of a game on his day. Other batsmen like Cheteshwar Pujara, Saurabh Tiwary and Moises Henriques are also in good form. They should put up a big total as their bowlers are not impressive this season.
Jaydev Unadkat's five-wicket haul stopped Delhi Daredevils from chasing down their 183 target in the previous match. Despite having bowlers like Vinay Kumar, RP Singh, Ravi Rampaul, Murali Kartik and Muttiah Muralidaran in the side, they have let their opponents chase down big totals in a few games, which is a worry. Bowlers should step up and defend big totals.
Prediction:
KKR are a good bowling side while RCB boast of big hitters. Going by their performance this season, RCB are the favourites to win on Sunday.
SQUADS:
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
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
Where to Watch Live
The match will begin at 4:00 pm IST and will be telecast live on Sony Set Max channel.
