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IPL 2023 Predictions: KKR vs RCB

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Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challenger will clash in Match 9 of IPL 2023 today.

The match will be held at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

After having lost the first match of their IPL campaign to Punjab Kings by a margin of 7 runs, KKR will be looking forward to a win.

However, things are going badly for KKR as they are ravaged by a spate of absences.

One of their top batters Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the IPL this season and now Shakib Al Hasan has pulled out.

Litton Das is yet to arrive for the season and Lockie Ferguson is also injured.

They have only 5 international players in their camp.

As a result, KKR will play Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mandeep Singh as their openers.

Gurbaz had a good IPL in 2022 when he scored his runs with a strike rate of 150. These two will be followed by Anukul Roy in a one-down position.

The KKR middle order will be in the hands of Venkatesh Iyer, skipper Nitish Rana, and Andre Russell. These are dangerous batters and one of them needs to fire if KKR is to make an impact.

Chances are, Andre Russell will come good. He has been scoring runs with a strike rate of 200 plus in his last 6 matches against the RCB.

In the last match against RCB, he blasted 65 runs from 25 balls with as many as 9 sixes.

Russell has hit 22 sixes in his last 6 matches and he is easily the top batsman for KKR.

For RCB, the opening pair of Kohli and Faf du Plessis are in red hot form.

Du Plessis hammered a 73 from 43 balls with 6 sixes and 5 fours in the 1st match vs MI.

Du Plessis was also the second-highest run-getter for SA 20. In his 11 matches, he put together 369 runs with an excellent strike rate of 147.60.

He has also scored 229 runs in his last 4 T20 matches with a couple of half-centuries against this opposition.

Supporting Faf, Kohli scored 82 runs from 49 balls in the first game.

The last time Virat Kohli played at Eden Gardens he managed to hit a hundred.

Also, Glenn Maxwell is fit and available for the match and is known to be a game-changer.

The RCB middle order with players such as Shabaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik, and Michael Bracewell is relatively unproven and could be a weak point.

They will miss the services of Reece Topley though who has a dislocated shoulder.

So, David Willey might come back into the side. Karn Sharma and Mohammad Siraj were the top bowlers for the RCB team in the first game.

Sharma picked up 2 wickets and Siraj was economical in picking up 1 wicket for just 21 runs.

KKR vs RCB Head-to-Head

The teams have taken each other on 30 times in the IPL history. Out of these 30 matches, Bengaluru has won 14 while Kolkata has emerged victorious on 16 occasions. However, RCB has won 5 of their last 7 matches and retain a psychological edge.

Pitch Report

The wicket on offer at the Eden Gardens ground is a batting-friendly one. The ball will come onto the bat nicely and you can expect even bounce from the track. There will be some turn available for the spinners as the game progresses.

KKR Playing XI

Mandeep Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk), Anukul Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (C), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav

RCB Playing XI

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (C), Dinesh Karthik (Wk), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Karn Sharma

Who will win

RCB might look like the clear favourites.

Eden Gardens is one of Kohli’s favourite grounds and if explodes, KKR doesn’t have the batting depth to match up.

However, KKR’s bowling looks more potent with quality pacers like Thakur, Southee and Umesh Yadav.

If they prise away RCB’s top order, KKR have a chance.

Also, the crowd will be supporting them in a big way. So, an upset is possible.

Our predictions is KKR will win.

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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024

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Smriti Mandhana and Alyssa Healy (Source - X)

RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.

Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.

It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.

Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain

Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.

It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.

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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window

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Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.

It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.

Watch the viral video here –

Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.

RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief

As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.

On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.

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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy

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Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.

Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.

The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).

‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar

“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.

Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.

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