Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will lock horns against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 36th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL). RCB have won successive matches for the first time this season and have a good chance to make it a hattrick of wins and also climb to the third position in the table. KKR's situation hasn't been great at all but their record at Chinnaswamy Stadium against RCB will encourage the team a lot. KKR have not lost to RCB in Bangalore since 2015 and they will be looking to arrest their four-match losing streak.
One more loss in this encounter will make things worse for Nitish Rana and his men in terms of qualifying for the playoffs. KKR, to have any chance, need to improve their powerplay batting and with Mohammed Siraj in great form with the ball, the task looks next to impossible. Meanwhile, RCB will have to find at least one player outside of Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell to contribute with the bat. The much-famed trio has accumulated 78.6% of runs scored by the team this season.
Match Details
Match: IPL 2023, Match 36
Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Star Sports Network and JioCinema
Probable Playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj
Kolkata Knight Riders: N Jagadeesan (wk), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy
Pitch and Weather Report
It has been a high-scoring surface at the Chinnaswamy Stadium with chasing being the preferred option. Even if a team bats first, they will look to score more than 220 which CSK did and somehow defended the total. Expect the team winning the toss to bowl first.
The weather currently in Bangalore is cloudy with thunderstorms expected soon. However, the chances of rain go down significantly to 7% by the time the match starts. Even if it rains, things should clear up soon for the game to start on time. It is expected to be cloudy right through the match.
Predictions
Best Batter of the Match: Faf du Plessis
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis has been playing as an Impact Player since the last two matches and has scored well. He is currently owning the Orange Cap with 405 runs in seven matches. Du Plessis is one of the most consistent batters and looking at the state of KKR batters, it is clear that he is set to have yet another rosy outing with the bat.
Best Bowler of the Match: Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj has turned out to be best powerplay bowler this season. He has kept the batters on the tenterhooks all the time and has struck more often than not in his first spell. Siraj has so far picked up 13 wickets and is at the second in the race for purple cap.
Who will win the Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
