Eden Gardens Pitch Report: KKR vs RCB: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 9th match of IPL 2023. The match is slated to be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, on Thursday, April 6 from 7.30 PM onwards. KKR lost their first match of the season to Punjab Kings by 7 runs. Nitish Rana and Co. will look to get their first win of the season at their home ground and get going on the points table. On the other hand, Faf du Plessis-led RCB are coming as a favourite in the contest as they have defeated 5-time champion Mumbai Indians in their season opener. Follow Indian Premier League 2023 Live Updates with Insidesport.IN
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Although the new skipper’s start wasn’t ideal, KKR still has the potential to make a comeback. KKR’s focus is now on the upcoming match against RCB at Eden Gardens. And they are expected to make some changes and mount a comeback.
If Lockie Ferguson becomes available, he might replace Tim Southee in the KKR squad for their second game. Ferguson was injured in the first match and was replaced by Southee. But now he is expected to be fit and could be included in the starting eleven.
After defeating the five-time champion in the first match, RCB now would be motivated to replicate the same result. The only change in RCB’s playing XI against KKR would be Reece Topley as he sustained an injury in the first match. Topley will be replaced by David Willey. Captain Faf du Plessis and star batter Virat Kohli, who played an incredible inning against MI will once again open the inning.
Eden Gardens Pitch Report
…#AmiKKR! 💜#TATAIPL2023 pic.twitter.com/2qeGKEj8mh
— KolkataKnightRiders (@KKRiders) April 4, 2023
Eden Gardens will host the IPL matches once again, with the Kolkata Knight Riders playing here for the first time since 2019. The knockout games last year were played on the pitch, but KKR was eliminated from the competition before that. The Eden Gardens is renowned for its batting-friendly pitch and has produced high-scoring T20 matches. In the IPL, the pitch is expected to be competitive. But as the game progresses, it can be very helpful to the bowlers, particularly spinners.
A total of 77 IPL matches have been played here at his venue. Out of which the chasing team won 45 times, while the team batting first won 31 times and one game ended as no result.
The average first-inning score here is 160 runs. The highest total at this venue is 232 runs, which was smashed by home team KKR against MI in 2019. And the lowest total at this venue is 49 runs, which is scored by RCB against KKR in 2017.
It is certain that both teams will look to win the toss and bowl first in Kolkata. A high-scoring affair is on the cards considering the batting quality of both sides.
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