The tenth match of Indian Premier League 2021 will see two high profile teams taking on each other. While Kolkata Knight Riders are looking for their second win of the edition, for Royal Challengers Bangalore the challenge is to maintain the consistency.
Nitish Rana has become a part of Kolkata Knight Riders core team over last few years. In first two IPL 2021 matches of Kolkata Knight Riders, Rana was the highest scorer for the side registering two half-centuries to his name already in the season. The first match against Sunrisers Hyderabad saw him scoring 56-ball 80 at the top and remained unbeaten till the death. It was his efforts that kept KKR alive and steady even after losing Rana’s opening partner.
Shubman Gill for just 15 runs. In the next game against Mumbai Indians, KKR were chasing down mere 153 runs. Once again Gill became the first man to leave for 33 but Rana stayed till the 15th over. However, he failed to find able ally and was dismissed for 57 off 47. While Gill is yet to gain full trust, Nitish Rana’s performance at the top is important for a good start for KKR.
Devdutt Padikkal was the highest run-scorer for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the last season. The youngster was found covid positive just ahead of the start of IPL 2021. Although he recovered from the same, he was not included in the first match for RCB as the team management wanted him to be fully match-fit. Padikkal opened in the second match for the Bangalore team with Virat Kohli against Sunrisers Hyderabad. But he failed to contribute. He could add only 11 runs before being the prey of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. RCB won both their matches and hence the early dismissal of an opener did not hurt much. But going forward it will be important to have a steady partnership at the top. Padikkal has the ability to stabilize the innings and he has proved it number of times in IPL 2020. He is a proven match winner and having him as opening partnership brings relief to Kohli as well.
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