IPL 2023: KKR vs RCB, Today Match Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders will face Royal Challengers Bangalore in their second game at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Thursday. Hit by injuries and unavailability of key players, two-time champions KKR will seek a victory at their home ground after losing against Punjab Kings in their opening game. On the other hand, star-studded RCB will want to continue their momentum of opening their campaign with a massive win against Mumbai Indians.
Ahead of their second game, KKR suffered twin blow as Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan pulled out of the tournament because of family reasons and international commitments and regular captain Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the entire IPL to undergo surgery. On the other hand, RCB's pace trio of Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and Akash Deep will look to make it count on a seaming-friendly Eden as they will likely miss Reece Topley, who suffered a shoulder dislocation.
Match Details
Match: IPL 2023, Match 9
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and JioCinema
Probable Playing XI -
Kolkata Knight Riders: Mandeep Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Anukul Roy, Nitish Rana (C), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee/Lockie Ferguson, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Shahbaz, Harshal Patel, David Willey, Akash Deep, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj
Unavailable Players
RCB - Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Reece Topley
KKR: Jason Roy
Pitch and Weather Report
The pitch at the Eden Gardens is generally full of runs. Boundary dimensions are extremely small and fierce hitters of the ball can enjoy their stay in the middle. Interestingly, the average first innings score at the venue is 155 in 12 T20 matches played here.
As for the weather, first of all, there is no chance of rain whatsoever. However, a cloud cover of 11% to 23% is expected throughout the match. The temperature will be around 26-31 Degrees Celsius during match hours. The fans should get to witness full 40 overs of action.
Predictions
Best Batter of the Match: Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is currently in an impressive form and is expected to prove lethal in front of the KKR bowlers. In the previous game, he scored 82 off 49 balls including 6 fours and 5 sixes and is expected to be brilliant with bat in the upcoming match as well.
Best Bowler of the Match: Sunil Narine
Narine who conceded 40 runs and took a wicket in his previous match is expected bounce back and trouble RCB batters at the Eden Gardens.
Who will win the Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
