Twenty days may not seem like much, but for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders it will feel like a long time. Both teams met in Eden Nurseries for Match 9 of 2023 Indian Chief Association’s (IPL). This was back on 6 April. Both RCB and KKR were coming off of crushing victories as they entered the match.
It was no surprise that the result of the challenge wasn’t as expected. The hosts had outfitted their twist attack to maximum effect and beat the guests by a staggering 81 runs. Since then, the fortunes of both teams have been in an inverse direction.
Bangalore is firmly positioned in the top half with four wins from seven matches. Kolkata is eighth in the IPL 2023 standings after four straight defeats.
The first team will want to take advantage of their home crowd and climb the rankings, while the other will be looking to get back to winning.
KKR generally enjoys playing at Chinnaswamy Stadium because of its high scoring, but they lack a cohesive team this time. The way they smashed RCB in the last 20 days will give them some hope.
IPL 2023: RCB versus KKR Expectations: Bangalore wants forget the reverse fixture.
The spinners are now in a slightly better position than they were last time.
Varun has had a decent year despite not being able to consistently score runs. Narine has struggled this season, and his performance is inconsistent. Suyash has become a reliable player since he made his IPL debut against RCB.
The superstars in Bangalore are now more adept at countering spinning.
Glenn Maxwell’s innings have been thrilling, and Faf du Plessis has improved his middle of the order game. Suyash Prabbhudessai, who has joined the fray despite Mahipal Lomror’s and Anuj Raat’s inability to significantly increase the southpaw quota – is a welcome addition.
The Knight Riders have a number of issues to address. Jason Roy, who joined the Knight Riders this year, has been a star performer. However, the opener may not be at his peak performance due to an injury sustained in a previous match.
Venkatesh iyer, despite scoring a sensational hundo against the Mumbai Indians(MI), has failed to impress in three of his four last innings. Andre Russell, as well as other famous actors, appear to not be at their best. But that’s not their biggest problem.
KKR has had a disappointing speed attack up to this point. Umesh and Kulwant Khejroliya were both expensive and not very penetrating, but the imports from abroad have been ostensibly far more terrible.
The slight underdog is Bangalore, but Kolkata can win with two goals.
Prediction: RCB to win IPL 2023 match 36.
