IPL 2023: Match 9, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted Playing XI vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

After suffering a seven-run defeat (DLS Method) at the hands of Punjab Kings in their previous match, Kolkata Knight Riders will be aiming to get back to winnings ways when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 6 at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata.

However, ahead of that, the two-time champions have a lot to deal with at the moment. Designated skipper Shreyas Iyer is already ruled out of the competition and recently, Shakib Al Hasan has pulled out of the competition as well. Meanwhile, Litton Das is yet to join the squad and likewise, there are plenty of problems that the team needs to address.

The woes start with their batting, which didn’t click at all in the previous match. Venkatesh Iyer was introduced as an impact player and he played the role of an anchor but got very little support from others. Andre Russell, meanwhile, wreaked havoc like he is known for but once he got out, the batters struggled a lot in the middle. So, what needs to change for KKR at the moment? Let’s dissect –

Here’s Kolkata Knight Riders’ predicted XI against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Openers: Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)

Venkatesh Iyer. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)

After a flop show from Mandeep Singh in the opening game, it is expected that Venkatesh Iyer will be opening the innings along with Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Notably, Iyer came to bat at number four in the previous match which is one slot that is close to his heart since he plays in that position for Madhya Pradesh. However, since Mandeep Singh failed, it is expected that KKR will go back to Iyer as an opener in the upcoming match.

Meanwhile, Rahmanullah Gurbaz will have the responsibility to give the franchise a good start in the powerplay. He started well in the match against PBKS but unfortunately lost his wicket while batting on 22. This time, he will hope to get better, since Litton Das will soon join the squad and can pose a challenge for his position. If Gurbaz fails to shine, he might get dropped in the upcoming matches.

Middle order: Anukul Roy, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh

Nitish Rana. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Batting at number three, Anukul Roy smacked the first ball for four in the opening clash against PBKS. However, that is all he did in the match. Skipper Nitish Rana didn’t trust him with the ball and with the bat, there’s a lot of room for improvement. Mandeep Singh may also come in as an impact player at number three but Anukul Roy has slightly better chances of featuring there since he can bowl a couple of overs as well.

Skipper Nitish Rana, meanwhile, needs to take more responsibility with the bat. He scored 24 runs off 17 deliveries in the previous match which was not enough. The 29-year-old needs to lead from the front, especially when Shreyas Iyer is not available at the moment. In order to do well in the competition, KKR needs a solid Indian batter who can score 450+ runs in a season and Rana will have to take up that challenge since he happens to be the most experienced batter in the team.

Coming to Rinku Singh, the 25-year-old was terrific in the domestic competitions but failed to contribute against PBKS. However, he has the capability to bounce back and make a significant contribution in the forthcoming match. Other than that, the Aligarh-born cricketer is also a terrific fielder and can affect results with his fielding prowess as well.

All-rounders: Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur

Andre Russell. (Photo Source: BCCI/IPL)

Andre Russell was terrific in the match against PBKS and given his history against Bangalore, one can definitely put their money on the Caribbean giant. The 34-year-old smacked 35 runs off 19 deliveries against PBKS and going forward, he is going to play a massive role for KKR this season. Notably, the all-rounder didn’t bowl a single over in the previous match but Rana can introduce him in the death overs against RCB.

The word economical sounds synonymous with Sunil Narine but unfortunately, the spin wizard conceded a lot of runs in the previous match. With the bat, he was looking good but rain played a spoilsport as he couldn’t finish the job. Eden Gardens is one place he knows a lot about and thus, Narine can return to his absolute best in KKR’s first home game of IPL 2023.

Shardul in his debut match for KKR conceded 43 runs in just four overs. None of his plans worked well and that’s a massive reason to worry about at the moment, especially when KKR spent INR 10.75 crore to sign the player. Meanwhile, just like Narine, Thakur was looking good with the bat as well, but couldn’t take KKR over the line due to rain.

Bowlers: Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy

Umesh Yadav against PBKS. (Photo Source: IPL/ BCCI)

Express pacer Umesh Yadav was great against Punjab Kings in KKR’s opening game of the season. Since the pacers are expected to get a lot of favour from the conditions at Eden, Umesh Yadav can prove to be really difficult to play against.

The same can be said for Tim Southee, who picked up two wickets against PBKS. The Kiwi international is often very dangerous with the new ball and since the ball is expected to swing, the 34-year-old can wreak havoc in the middle.

When it comes to Varun Chakravarthy, the mystery spinner had been very poor in the last couple of seasons for KKR. However, he bounced back this season and impressed everyone by being economical against the Shikhar Dhawan-led side. The team will expect him to do the same job once again as RCB will come hard at the Knight Riders.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Anukul Roy, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Probable Impact Players: Suyash Sharma, Vaibhav Arora, N Jagadeesan, Mandeep Singh, David Wiese.