🏏K K Riders vs. R C Bengaluru, 36th Match, Eden Gardens, Kolkata🏏

🏏Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Royal Challengers Bengaluru, 36th Match, Eden Gardens, Kolkata🏏

In the summer of 2019, in the press conference room of Kolkata's Eden Gardens, Andre Russell was facing the cameras and in an unrestrained rant went after questioning the decisions of his then-captain, Dinesh Karthik, who had come under fire following his team's six-match losing streak in the season. Four years later, in the same room, Karthik put up a brave front for his teammates.

Even after swapping the purple for red, the position isn't too different for him with Royal Challengers Bengaluru going down five games in a row.

Virat Kohli is having one of the finest Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons in his entire career. He is striking well in the powerplay as well as in the death overs. However, the problem has been his team's inconsistent form.

Heading to the Eden Gardens for the reverse fixture against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Sunday, April 21, all hopes would once again hang on the shoulders of the great man as he is one of the best players against the Knight Riders and at this esteemed venue as well.

Kohli equaled the record of the great Sachin Tendulkar in the 2023 ODI World Cup as he smashed his 49th ODI century at the Eden Gardens against South Africa. However, even before this record-breaking innings, Kohli had three centuries and a fifty at the Eden Gardens in his last 10 innings.

Not only in the last 10 innings but overall, Kolkata has been one of the favourite grounds for Kohli. The Indian maestro has hit five centuries across Tests, ODIs, and T20Is in 31 innings at an average of 47.92.

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This time, KKR have an unlikely candidate as their highest run-scorer: Sunil Narine. In his 6 innings so far, the West Indian all-rounder has scored 276 runs, with the highest score being 106. His strike rate is 187.75 as he has hit 26 fours and 20 sixes so far.

Next in line are Phil Salt and Shreyas Iyer. Salt has scored 201 in his 6 innings with a strike rate of 151.12. Iyer has had a muted performance so far, with 140 runs in 6 innings. His strike rate is not at par with the best in the game, 122.80. Andre Russell (128 runs in 4 innings) did not get many chances. But, when he did, he scored at the strike rate of 200.00.

Sunil Narine also leads the bowling attack for KKR. He has taken 7 wickets so far at an average of 23.57. His economy is impressive at 6.87. Another spinner Varun Chakaravarthy is the next. He has also taken 7 wickets with an average of 28.57. His economy is 9.09.

The standout performer for RCB in this IPL season so far is Virat Kohli. He is the current Orange Cap holder with 361 runs in 7 innings. His strike rate is 147.34, with the highest score being 113 not out.

RCB captain Faf Du Plessis has scored 232 runs in 7 innings with a strike rate of 154.66. He is followed by Dinesh Karthik. In his 6 innings so far, DK has turned out to be an explosive finisher, with 226 runs under his name. His strike rate is 205.45 and he has remained unbeaten thrice.

Bengaluru haven’t had the best tournament with their bowling yet. Yash Dayal, with 5 wickets in 6 innings, is their best bowler so far. Glenn Maxwell, who is unlikely to play against KKR, has taken 4 wickets in 4 innings. So has Mohammed Siraj in 6 innings.

So what has experience of all these years taught Karthik? How does a team get out of this quicksand of defeats? "You need a lot of character in players," was his simple response.

The fault, again, isn't with Karthik's performance. If anything the last time he was at a ground, he was walking back to a standing ovation from the crowd despite his team's loss. The last time he was in front of the mic, he was asked of his aspirations to play for India again. But much like it was in 2019, the performances of his teammates aren't helping the side much.

Glenn Maxwell had opted out of the previous game, the middle order isn't able to control the games and the bowling lot despite all the combinations tried out hasn't been able to deliver. After having bled a record 286 in the previous game, they now march to a ground which had the highest total chased down in its previous game.

With the Impact Substitute rule, there has been no mercy shown on the bowlers this season, and RCB's batters - barring Karthik and to an extent Virat Kohli - just haven't inspired enough confidence to be up with those high scores that the oppositions are posting and chasing down. To add to it, they are coming up against a side that currently boasts of the best Net Run Rate, if not taking the top position on the points table. KKR are adding the finishing touches to all their departments that have been dominating this season.

However, for as well as KKR have played this season, the last-ball defeat to Royals in their previous game did rankle them. The question is - are RCB ready to pounce on that loss of momentum or are they too busy fixing their own problems?

KKR vs RCB head-to-head records

Kolkata and Bengaluru have played 33 IPL matches against each other so far. Kolkata have won 19 and RCB 14. Kolkata’s highest total against RCB so far is 222, and the Royal Challengers’ highest score against KKR is 213.

KKR vs RCB pitch report

Eden Gardens in Kolkata supports batting; bowlers need to use varied techniques to control the game. It has short boundaries, leading to high scores.

What to expect: Even as both teams would be coming into the game well rested, they will be up against gruelling conditions. There is a heat wave sweeping Kolkata with an 'orange alert' alarmed. Excessive humidity will only make it more challenging for both teams in the afternoon game. Bowlers are going to have a tough time, so don't be surprised if the captain winning the toss opts to bat.

Teams Watch

Kolkata Knight Riders

Injuries and availability: Nitish Rana, who was out due to an injury for the early part of the tournament, is yet to play for KKR this season. Rinku Singh, who had a few niggles and played as an impact substitute in the previous game, had promised that he would be fielding in Sunday's clash.

Tactics & Matchups: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell have been tied down by Sunil Narine. If they do manage to get through the powerplay safely, they will need to find a way to ensure that they are not stagnated through the middle overs.

Probable XI: Phil Salt, Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer/Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakravarthy [Impact Substitute: Vaibhav Arora]

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

Injuries/Unavailability: Glenn Maxwell had opted out of the previous game citing mental fatigue. Whether he is fresh to return remains unknown.

Tactics & Matchups: Mohammed Siraj has had the upper hand against Sunil Narine, dismissing the southpaw twice in 11 balls and conceding only 12 runs. He will hold the key for RCB upfront, especially given that Narine has had the better of Yash Dayal and Alzarri Joseph in the IPL. Siraj also has dominated the battles against Shreyas Iyer and Andre Russell.

Probable XI: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Alzarri Joseph, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj [Impact Substitute: Yash Dayal]

Rcb vs anyone else= obvious result

Thanks for the tag and thread, Madz!❤️

Dharam sankat today 🥹

Rinku Singh's Hilarious conversation with Virat Kohli:

Rinku Singh seemed to be in a mood to get another bat from Virat and can be playing knocking the ball wiht the senior player's bat while querying, "to bhej rahe ho aap (are you sending it?)". To which the senior batter replied, 'Kiske bhej raha hoon? (To whom am I sending it to?)".

At the end of the conversation, Virat could also be seen in an agitated avatar where he scolds Rinku about taking breaking a bat he offered in the last game. He says, “Ek match pehle le gaya tu bat. 2 match mei tujhe 2 bat dun. Teri wajah se na jo meri baad me halat hoti hai na. (You took the bat in the previous match. (Now you want second bat in second game? Because of you, I face consequences later.)"

Interestingly, the two batters are some of the likely names to represent India in the upcoming T20 World Cup starting right after the end of IPL 2024 season. And while Virat did refuse to entertain

Did you know:

- KKR openers have the second best run-rate [11.66] among all teams in IPL 2024, while RCB openers have the second most runs [343]. SRH openers top the list for both [451 runs and run-rate of 13.07].

- RCB have tried out four players in seven innings at No 3, with all of them combining to score 81 runs in that position

- Dinesh Karthik has scored the most runs in death overs [16-20] in IPL 2024, and boasts of the best strike-rate [252.86] among all batters who have scored more than 100 runs in that period