The Indian Premier League, which was suspended following the tensions between India and Pakistan, is set for resumption with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) taking on defending champions Kolkata Knight RIders (KKR) in today’s (Saturday) match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The match is crucial for both the sides as a win would promise RCB a spot in the play-offs, while a loss for KKR ends their play-off dreams.
Here’s the head-to-head record and other factors that would influence the out come of the important match.
The Kohli factor
However, the loudest cheers will be reserved for Kohli, who announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this week.
If social media calls are anything to go by, the faithfuls are planning to don the white jersey to honour a batter who lorded over the traditional format.
However, Kohli does not require such external motivation to stoke his inner fire and, rest assured, the 36-year-old will be eager to churn out some impactful knocks, perhaps a silent riposte after a rather abruptly ending his Test career.
The Knight Riders, riddled with their own issues, might just be the opponents that Kohli needs to vent a few strands of frustration, if indeed there is any.
Batting has been KKR’s Achilles Heel this season as apart from captain Ajinkya Rahane and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, none of their batters have managed to contribute consistently.
They would like a few more runs from the bats of Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh.
However, the KKR bowling line-up of Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana has held its own despite being on the expensive side on occasions.
But they will be deprived of the presence of experienced England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who has been ruled out of the IPL with viral fever, if the pitch here has retained its grip seen during the previous matches.
The pitch factor
The Chinnaswamy track so far has shown an affinity towards the bowlers with pacers and, at times, spinners getting rather unanticipated help in the form of bounce and bite.
But the prolonged interval and the swiftly setting in monsoon might have had their effect on it, leaving the teams to reshape their strategies accordingly.
Head-to-head record:
Since the inception of the 20 over tournament, both teams have clashed on 36 occasions with Kolkata Knight Riders have a clear edge over RCB with 21-15 record. In the last season too, KKR had emerged victorious in the two games they played against each other.
However, RCB in the season opener have clinched a comfortable win over the three time trophy collectors.
Teams (from):
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (c), Mayank Agarwal, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyash Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil Singh, Liam Livingstone, Nuwan Thushara, Lungi Ngidi, Mohit Rathee, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Luvnith Sisodia, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Markande, Umran Malik, Anrich Nortje, Spencer Johnson.
Match starts at 7.30pm.