We are into the 6th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, and all the 10 teams have now played a game each. On 30th March, the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will be up against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

The match will be played at the D.Y. Patil Stadium and will begin at 7:30 PM IST.

While KKR began their campaign with a win against the defending champions, Chennai Super Kings, RCB lost their first game against the Punjab Kings despite scoring 200 runs in the first innings.

RCB vs. KKR Interesting Facts

Whether it was the infamous Gambhir vs. Kohli spat during the 2013 edition of IPL or KKR bowling RCB out for a meager 49, the KKR and RCB rivalry is real. Here are some interesting facts about RCB vs. KKR in the 2022 edition of IPL.

  • KKR’s longstanding skipper, Dinesh Karthik, is playing for RCB this season. He will face his previous franchise for the first time this season, which will make things nostalgic. Karthik could well unleash some tactics to get ahead of the game, given his association with KKR players as the skipper.
  • Ajinkya Rahane is back in form after heavy criticism. He played only a handful of games for the Delhi Capitals last season and was also recently dropped from the Indian test squad. Jinx, as Rahane is popularly known, was under tremendous pressure before the start of this season. However, he scored 44 off 34 balls in the first match of this edition against CSK.
  • RCB has a new skipper in Faf Du Plessis after Kohli announced he was stepping down last year. Fantastic Faf has scored a combined total of over 1000 runs in the previous two editions of IPL. He is only one of the three players to do so.
  • Seems like Virat Kohli’s strike rate is on the rise after giving up the captaincy. In the first match against the PBKS, he scored at 140+, higher than his strike rate of 119 in IPL 2021. Kohli’s career-best strike rate in IPL was 152 when he scored a whopping 973 runs in 16 matches in 2016. Moreover, Virat’s overall IPL career strike rate is 130.

RCB’s Previous Match

The Challengers from Bangalore played their first match against the Punjab Kings and were asked to bat first. After a slow start, RCB were 57-1 after 9 overs, they bounced back and ended up with a total of 205-2. The show-stealer was their captain, Faf Du Plessis, who scored 88 (57), hitting 7 sixes and 3 fours.

Later in the innings, Dinesh Karthik played a handy knock with a 14 ball 32 with 3 sixes and the same number of fours. Virat Kohli remained not out at 41 (29), along with DK.

Out to defend a big total, RCB’s bowling unit was out of sync from the very beginning. Their bowlers never looked in control and gave away too many runs in the powerplay. Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank Agarwal toyed with RCB’s bowlers and scored 70 in the first 7 overs.

RCB made a comeback in the game after getting some quick wickets, but the heroics of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Odeon Smith proved too much for them. PKBS pulled off the target with an over to spare and 5 wickets in hand.

The biggest worry for RCB is their bowling attack. Mohammad Siraj was hit all around the ground as he gave away 59 runs in his quota of 4 overs.

On the other hand, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel had an economy rate of 10 and 9 runs per over respectively. Akash Deep was also expensive, giving 38 from the 3 overs he bowled.

What will worry RCB more?

It will be their bowling attack, undoubtedly. However, RCB is unlikely to make too many changes. Maybe, one or two bowlers can be swapped, but it’s too early to judge your bowlers.

I also feel their batting lineup isn’t sturdy enough. Barring Faf, Kohli, and Karthik, there aren’t many players you can rely on.

Anuj Rawat is a youngster who will shine sooner or later, but he needs to up the ante in the first six overs. Scoring at a strike rate of 100 won’t help the team’s cause, given that Faf and Kohli are men designated to play for the long haul. What RCB needs at the top are quick runs from Anuj.

Furthermore, Sherfane Rutherford and David Willey are still untested with the bat. Imagine a situation where RCB loses 4 wickets for 70 runs; suddenly, the onus will be on these two.

How can they show their prowess? Maybe, try and move them up in a few matches so that they match ready when the time comes, especially in the absence of Glen Maxwell.

KKR’s Previous Match

The Knight Riders started their campaign with a brave win over CSK. After winning the toss, KKR elected to bowl first, and the decision proved right with the yellow army 4 down for 50 in eight overs.

Umesh Yadav surprised everyone with a marvelous spell during the powerplay picking two wickets. Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy crafted a complicated web of their spin bowling, giving away just 38 runs in 8 overs together.

KKR didn’t go to Nitish Rana or Venkatesh Iyer to have a bowl despite Andre Russell being at the receiving end. Dre Russ was expensive, with an economy rate of 9.50 after his full quota of 4 overs.

Chasing 132, KKR had their task cut. All they needed was a stable start, and who better than Ajinkya Rahana to do that? He scored a humble 44 off 34 balls with 6 fours and a six. Shreyas Iyer and Sam Billings did the rest as KKR won the match with 9 balls to spare.

What will worry KKR more?

Nothing much here, at least after the first match. Everything worked perfectly for Shreyas Iyer, the KKR skipper, against CSK. KKR have an experienced squad, and they can pull things off at their will. 

Their trump card, Narine, can open the batting when asked, Russell can prove to be lethal, and Shreyas’ increasing game awareness makes them a tough side to beat.

Where are they in the points table?

Though it is too early to talk about standings, KKR is placed at number 4 after their first match while RCB is at number 8 in the table.

Click here for the full points table.

Positives and Negatives for RCB

The positives for RCB:

  • Faf is in top form.
  • Virat Kohli is batting freely,
  • They have an established finisher in Dinesh Karthik.
  • Wanindu Hasaranga may have gone for runs, but some of his deliveries were pure class in the game against PBKS.

The negatives for RCB

  • Failure of their bowling unit, specifically Siraj’s yorkers are missing the mark.
  • Untested middle order in Sherfane Rutherford and David Willey.
  • Unable to create pressure in the powerplay.

Positives and Negatives for KKR

The positives for KKR:

  • Rahane’s form at the top.
  • Sturdy middle order with Shreya Iyer, Sam Billings, and Andre Russell.
  • Ability to build partnerships regularly.
  • Their spinners are effectively putting pressure in the middle overs.

The negatives for KKR:

  • Andre Russell is going for runs while bowling. What is more worrying is the length he is bowling at.
  • They might struggle with the abundance of batting options they have. It is like a two-edged sword.

RCB vs KKR Predicted Playing XIs

RCB predicted playing eleven against KKR

  1. Faf du Plessis (C)
  2. Anuj Rawat
  3. Virat Kohli
  4. Dinesh Karthik
  5. Sherfane Rutherford
  6. David Willey
  7. Wanindu Hasaranga
  8. Siddharth Kaul
  9. Harshal Patel
  10. Mohammad Siraj
  11. Akash Deep

KKR predicted playing eleven against RCB

  1. Rahane
  2. V. Iyer
  3. Nitish Rana
  4. Shreyas Iyer (C)
  5. Sam Billings
  6. Sheldon Jackson
  7. Andre Russell
  8. Sunil Narine
  9. Umesh Yadav
  10. Shivam Mavi
  11. Varun Chakravarthy

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