KKR and RCB clash in a match that should provide plenty of excitement, with one team in desperate need of the two points. The Eden Gardens will expect another special from Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers, but also while hoping their team -- Kolkata Knight Riders -- end up on the winning side.
With both sides packed with attacking batting talent, runs should be scored in plenty in this match between the Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Here is a prediction of how KKR vs RCB could go.
If KKR bat first: Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa stride out to bat after a half-hour delay due to rain, and with the new ball nipping around early on, Stuart Binny induces an outside edge off Uthappa, which is comfortably pouched by KL Rahul. Gambhir, though, battles on and with Manish Pandey looking in good touch at the other end, KKR finish the Powerplay overs on 43/1. Pandey falls for 26, with Yusuf Pathan again sent up the order at No.4. The big right-hander continues his stellar form, going on a counter-attack, as the spinners struggle to grip the slippery ball. With Gambhir anchoring the innings at the other end, the KKR big-hitters are freed to express themselves and they do just that with Russell also getting in on the act to power the home side to 167.
Gayle and Kohli start the chase off well, putting on 47 runs for the first wicket, before the former falls to his West Indies teammate Sunil Narine. Kohli and De Villiers, however, come together again, putting on another delectable partnership – nothing remotely as brutal as the one against the Gujarat Lions, but equally effective – to take RCB to the brink of victory, before Shane Watson finishes the match off in style.
If RCB bat first: Gayle comes in and whacks a few from the start, deciding that attack from ball one is the better option than trying to play himself in. Kohli, however, falls early, as a drive to the offside is taken in the covers. De Villiers and Gayle put on 85 runs together, before Gayle is dismissed. There is no stopping De Villiers, however, and with Watson chipping in nicely as well, along with a little cameos from KL Rahul and Sachin Baby, RCB manage to reach 171.
KKR are jolted early in the chase, with Gambhir and Uthappa falling in the first three overs, one to Binny and the other to S Aravind. However, just when RCB look like they have the game under control, the rain comes. After a delay of well over an hour, KKR are left needing around nine and a half runs an over in 60 balls. That puts RCB under the cosh, with the D/L method favouring the chasing team again. However, Kohli calms his troops and, led by Chris Jordan, the Royal Challengers nullify the threat posed by the likes of Pathan and Russell to clinch a last-over victory.
