Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders Predictions: KKR have not won their last four games

Playing in their eighth game of the season Royal Challengers Bangalore will welcome Kolkata Knight Riders in the 36th game of the season at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on 26th April. KKR has not won any of the last four games and RCB is on the uprun. Who will win this game?

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB has been performing well in their recent matches, winning three out of their last four games, bringing them closer to the top-four position. One of the major contributors to their success has been the outstanding performance of their top-order batsmen, with Faf Du Plessis leading the charge, having scored five half-centuries in seven innings, and receiving great support from Virat Kohli. However, as the wickets slow down, it may become more challenging for Kohli to maintain his momentum after the powerplay.

Glenn Maxwell has also been playing well, with his ability to score big coupled with consistency being a rare combination. However, lower-order batsmen like Dinesh Kartik, Mahipal Lomror, and Shahbaz Ahmed have not had many opportunities to play and have struggled when given the chance. Therefore, any team playing against RCB may try to expose their weak middle order.

The seamers, particularly Mohammed Siraj, have done a commendable job, picking up 13 wickets, the highest in the tournament so far. Siraj has been able to take wickets during the powerplay and has been economical too. Harshal Patel and Wayne Parnell have also provided good support. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted Lineup

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak

Kolkata Knight Riders

In the past few matches, the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) have struggled to perform, losing all of their last four games, resulting in their gradual decline to the bottom three of the points table. While some of the Indian players in the batting line-up have played well, such as Venkatesh Iyer, Nitesh Rana, and Rinku Singh, some of the prominent international players like Andre Russell and Rahmanullah Gurbaz have been inconsistent.

Moreover, KKR is missing the services of experienced players, Shreyas Iyer, and Shakib Al-Hasan. Although Jason Roy has recently joined the team and scored a quick 61 runs in the last match, he was placed in the middle order, which is not his preferred position. We hope KKR sends him out to open the innings where he can perform better.

The team's bowling has also not been up to par this season, with Varun Chakaravarthy being the standout bowler with 10 wickets. Sunil Narine has been economical but has struggled to take wickets. Additionally, the pacers in the squad, such as Umesh Yadav, Kulwant Khejroliya, and Shardul Thakur, have not been able to cause any problems for the opposition batsmen. Thus, KKR's bowling attack is one of the weakest in IPL 2023.

To turn things around, KKR needs to come up with a special performance. However, the team has made too many changes to its lineup and batting order, possibly due to the pressure on Coach Chandrakant Pandit.

Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Lineup

N Jagadeesan (wk), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Kulwant Khejroliya, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

Expert betting tips

The pitch at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is known to favour the batsmen, with high-scoring matches being the norm. Thus, winning the toss and electing to bowl first may be the preferred option for the captain, as chasing could prove advantageous. However, if the team batting first manages to score a substantial total, it could put the opposition under pressure. In the past three matches played at the stadium, the team batting first has emerged victorious. Additionally, there appears to be a slight slowdown in the pitch, making batting first the potentially better option. We can expect KKR to bounce back with a win.