Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl first against Kolkata Knight Riders in match 36 of Indian Premier League 2024 at the Eden Gardens. The clash will be RCB's in-form wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik's 250th IPL game. (Match Blog | Scorecard)
KKR are playing the same team as their last game, while RCB have made three changes to their playing XI, bringing back Karn Sharma in place of Vyshak Vijaykumar, Mohammed Siraj instead of Shivam Chauhan and Cameron Green for Reece Topley. Hot and sultry conditions will greet both teams in Kolkata.
Explaining his rationale for fielding first, Faf said: This is probably a chasing ground, always has been. I'm a fan of batting first when it's really hot, but the temperature did drop after an hour or so yesterday, unlike in Mumbai or Chennai where it stays very hot."
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KKR skipper Shreyas Iyer said: "Last afternoon game here, we know how the wicket plays, we would have loved to bowl as well. It's stiflingly hot and we'll look to make them as tired as possible. We've tried to keep things simple, it's not about how you start, it's about how you end, just stick to the basics."
Playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Mohammed Siraj.
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Kolkata Knight Riders: Philip Salt(w), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer(c), Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell, Rinku Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana.
A do-or-die situation confronts RCB, as they take on KKR. The bottom-placed Bengaluru have suffered six defeats in seven games, and are currently on a five-match losing streak. Not only do Faf du Plessis and Co need to arrest the slide, they also need to win all their remaining league games if they are to continue harbouring any hopes of winning their maiden IPL title.
It will be a daunting task against KKR, who have eight points from six games and are currently placed third in the IPL 2024 points table. More so in Kolkata, against what will no doubt be a vociferous home crowd.
