Kolkata Knight Riders are set to take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the historic Eden Gardens on Sunday. Currently occupying the second spot in the standings, KKR has accumulated 8 points from six matches, while RCB finds themselves at the bottom with just 2 points in seven games. The KKR vs RCB game will start at 3.30 PM IST.
Will Nitish Rana come back to the KKR lineup?
So there might be some tactical alterations for Kolkata Knight Riders, one of which could be Nitish Rana’s return to the XI instead of Venkatesh Iyer. Nitish Rana played the first two games of the IPL 2024 but was injured in the second, and although being recovered today, he is yet to break into the side, with youthful Angkrish Raghuvanshi demonstrating his skill at number three.
Venkatesh Iyer, on the other hand, appears to be out of place further down the order, with his sole successful hit this season coming at number 3. Rana, on the other hand, can bat anywhere in the batting order, making him a more valuable asset than Venkatesh Iyer to KKR.
Mitchell Starc’s inconsistent form could prompt KKR to reassess his place in the team, while Suyash Sharma might replace Varun Chakravarthy, who has struggled in recent outings.
KKR Probable XI: Sunil Narine, Phil Salt (wk), Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Mitchell Starc, Harshit Rana, Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora
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Can RCB’s bowling unit find their momentum?
Meanwhile, RCB’s bowling department has been underwhelming this season, with Lockie Ferguson failing to make a significant impact in the previous match. Despite this, Ferguson may retain his place, facing his former team. Glenn Maxwell is expected to be absent, with Cameron Green likely to return in place of Reece Topley, providing additional batting strength to the side.
Notably, Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik have been standout performers for RCB, with Karthik particularly motivated to excel against his former team, which he captained for three and a half seasons.
RCB Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Mahipal Lomror, Saurav Chauhan, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Vijaykumar Vyshak, Lockie Ferguson, Mohammed Siraj