1. Background:
From South to East, RCB would feel relieved finally to move out of Bangalore Chinnaswamy where they have lost 3 of the 4 games. They however travel to Kolkata which is kind of a fortress for the Knight Riders. With just 1 win in the last 7 games RCB is all but out of the tournament and their qualification will only tickle the taste buds of Math geeks rather than anyone else. RCB is playing for pride and all the games going forward will be a pointer to the management about their team set up in the next year auction.
Knight Riders on the other hand are sitting pretty at the top but would like to get those 2 vital points and stay in the top 3 slot. With Lucknow winning their last game and SRH beating Delhi ,the fight for the number 2 slot is well on.
2. Ground & Pitch:
Eden Gardens has been a good strip this year with enough in the pitch for the batters and the bowlers. The last scores this season were 223, 161 and 208 and two of them were won by team batting second. The one instance where Knight Riders defended 208 was when SRH failed to score 10 in the last over.
Tomorrow’s game is a day game and the only day game played in Eden Gardens this year was 161. Expect a good batting surface but the team winning the toss will like to bowl first and chase under the lights.
3. Players To Watch For KKR:
Sunil Narine has been a revelation this season with opening the batting and being almost unplayable. KKR will hope he continues the good form he is in.
Phill Salt has made the most of the opportunity that he has got due to Jason Roy’s injury. KKR depend a lot on him to get the good starts before the muscle power of Russell and Rinku Singh help them score big.
Dre Russell is never out of it and he has almost always been the difference between a good score and an unbeatable score.
4. Players To Watch For RCD
Virat Kohli the Orange Cap holder so far is the only shining light for RCB. Expect him to continue his good form. If RCB has to win this match Virat has to come to party.
Dinesh Karthik is doing what Dinesh Karthik has been doing in the last couple of years. He is playing with a freedom unmatched and is so refreshing to see him play the game. He has been striking at 205 this season. RCB need to get him up the order and give him more time.
Faf du Plessis has finally shown signs of getting back in form. RCB needs their captain to step up again tomorrow. To begin he needs to win the toss. RCB wont be able to defend anything so their best bet is to try restrict KKR in first innings and then hope their batting steps up.
5. Betting Tips:
Run Line is at 180.5 at the time of writing this blog. At Eden Gardens typically this is achievable but given this is a day game i would give this a pass pre match. Look how the pitch is playing and then may be decide to go overs or unders.
Match Bet. KKR start favorite and the only way I see RCB winning this is if they win the toss and bowl first. If they bat first I am surely betting KKR to win. Can RCB pull an upset ? Most likely not.