IPL 2023 Predictions: KKR vs RCB

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.