Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to get their sixth win to get level in points with Delhi Capitals. They have lost two out of their last three matches and will not like to make it a habit. Kolkata Knight Riders do not have a great IPL 2021 and would like to deliver a much better show in the second half of the tournament. If they can beat a strong team like RCB that would provide them lots of confidence for the next set of games.
The X-factor for Kolkata Knight Riders is Andre Russell. Over the years, Russell played some of the most astonishing innings for KKR and quite a few of those came against RCB. Even in the last match against the same opponent he tried his best despite knowing the target was already out of his reach. His batting position is a regular talking point in the media and may also be a key reason for KKR’s shambolic performance. Their coach Brendon McCullum has promised multiple changes in personnel and strategy and one of them could be to sent Russell bat in the number four/five position to let him face more deliveries. Russell has scored a fifty and is in mediocre form but on his them, he can change the fate of a match with few deliveries. He is also handling the key responsibility of bowling at the death for KKR and already has a five-wicket haul.
AB de Villiers is a champion T20 player, and he is regularly proving it during the IPL. He has already got more than 200 runs in this year’s IPL with an average of 51.75 and strike rate of 164.28. He was the man-of-the match against the KKR in their last meeting and was also got another man-of-the-match in the matches between these two teams last year. The inclusion of Glenn Maxwell has given more advantage to de Villiers who can bat much more freely if Maxwell is around. Even the in-form Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli can also provide a solid foundation, on which de Villiers can explode. All the KKR bowlers, especially the spinners would look to get the prized scalp of de Villiers at the earliest as few overs of de Villiers at the death overs can provide a massive benefit to RCB.
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