Rejuvenated by a Cricket World Cup 2019 call-up, Dinesh Karthik would be eager to impress India captain Virat Kohli and also arrest the Kolkata Knight Riders' (KKR) three game losing streak, when they lock horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 35th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019.
It won't be easy for KKR with Andre Russell doubtful for the RCB game after injuring his left shoulder during practice. Russell, who is KKR's leading run-getter and main hope, was hit by a bouncer from a net bowler during training and was seen writhing in pain as the support staff rushed to the ground.
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In their first-leg clash in Bengaluru, Russell made all the difference with a whirlwind 13-ball 48 to drag KKR out of the woods and guide them to a remarkable five-wicket win.
Kohli has his own problems with RCB all but out of the competition if they lose. Rock-bottom in the table with just one win from eight matches, RCB just haven't been in the groove this year. From the remaining six games, they would have to win all to give themselves any chance of a playoff berth.
Kohli has also not led from the front, cutting a forlorn figure on the field more often than not and also failing to fire with the bat.
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The team's main problem has been their bowling which has been poor to say the least, except for Yuzvendra Chahal. In KKR, they would face an opponent hungry to return to winning ways after losing back-to-back home games.
All You Need To Know About The Match
Match: The 35th match of IPL 2019 between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Date: April 19 (Friday)
Time: 8:00 PM IST, Toss at 7:30
Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Live Telecast: Star Network
Live Streaming: Hotstar
Likely XIs:
Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Harry Gurney
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Shimron Hetmyer, Akshdeep Nath, Pawan Negi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Dale Steyn, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya
Head-to-head: In 24 meetings, KKR have won 15 matches while RCB were victorious in nine. In Kolkata, KKR lead 6-3 in nine matches.
Other key numbers:
- RCB's average score against KKR is 148, while KKR's in the fixture is 161
- RCB captain Virat Kohli is the leading scorer in the fixture (574 runs)
- Andre Russell is the leading scorer for KKR with 227 runs
- KKR's Sunil Narine (15) is the leading wicket-taker in the fixture. For RCB, Yuzvendra Chahal leads the chart with 11.
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Prediction: RCB win in a tight finish
Form guide (most recent first): KKR lost to Chennai Super Kings by five wickets, lost to Delhi Capitals by seven wickets, lost to Super Kings by seven wickets; RCB lost to Mumbai Indians by five wickets, beat Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets, lost to Delhi Capitals by four wickets
