The second IPL match of the day will see Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in what is a must win game for Virat Kohli and his men. This will be Kohli's fourth match for RCB since he returned after a shoulder injury. He will have to be at his best with the bat again for RCB to better their standings in points' table.
However, despite having one of the best batsmen in the IPL, RCB will definitely have a tough time against Kolkata on Sunday. Gautam Gambhir and his men have been really good so far this season and despite suffering a surprise defeat against the Gujarat Lions in the previous match, they will fancy their chances against an RCB side who are seventh in the points' table.
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The Kolkata Knight Riders are second in the points table at the moment and given how they have started the 2017 IPL season, they are less likely to tamper with the winning combination.
Gambhir is likely to open the batting alongside Sunil Narine once again who scored 42 from just 17 balls against the Gujarat Lions.
The likes of Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Yusuf Pathan have all proved effective with the bat so far. Chris Lynn will sit out this match as well owing to injury. KKR need not have to make much changes in the bowling department too.
The likes of Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Wokes and Umesh Yadav have been really consistent with the ball so far, taking wickets regularly. So unless a last minute injury rules someone out, they should stick to the same starting 11.
RCB have not had the best of starts to this IPL season as they have lost four of their first six matches so far. But they have been showing signs of improvement since Kohli came back and that could give them the much-needed confidence to get another important win in Kolkata today.
AB de Villiers, Samuel Badree and Tymal Mills could all be in contention to make a return to the starting 11 for RCB and if they do, it will be interesting to see who will get dropped. Mills impressed with the ball in the early matches for Bangalore but missed the last two matches. If he is fit, he is likely to replace to Adam Milne.
De Villiers' inclusion will be absolutely crucial as RCB are in desperate need for a win. Australian Shane Watson has struggled to get going this season and should the South African prove to be fit, he could take Watson's place in the starting 11.
Not a lot of changes are required for RCB on the batting front but they should decide which foreign bowler to pick between Milne and Mills.
Expected playing XI
KKR: Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Colin de Grandhomme, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav
RCB: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (C), Kedar Jadhav, Samuel Badree, Mandeep Singh, AB de Villiers, Stuart Binny, Pawan Negi, Tymal Mills, S Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal.
