IPL 2023, KKR vs RCB: Pitch report (Eden Gardens)
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will cross swords with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match 9 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). The iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata will host this affair on Thursday (April 6). While RCB thrashed Mumbai Indians by eight wickets to kick-start their campaign, KKR lost to Punjab Kings (PBKS) by seven runs in their opener. Here's the pitch report.
How the pitch will behave?
As Eden Gardens is renowned for its batting-friendly surfaces, one could see a high-scoring game. The quick outfield would give batters value for their shots. However, the longer boundaries mean spinners can be impactful. A competitive battle between bat and ball is expected. Owing to the dew factor, the toss-winning skipper might look to bowl first.
Did you know?
KKR have so far played 74 IPL games at Eden Gardens and emerged winners on 45 occasions. No other team has claimed more victories at a particular venue in IPL. Mumbai Indians (43 at Wankhede Stadium) and Chennai Super Kings (41 at MA Chidambaram) are the only other IPL teams to claim 40 or more victories at a venue.
The chasing team will hold an advantage
Chasing teams have won 48 of the 79 IPL games held at this venue. This speaks volumes of the dew factor. 8.18 reads the average run rate of teams batting first here. Meanwhile, RCB boast five victories and six defeats at this venue. In 2017, KKR bundled RCB out for 49 here, the lowest team score in IPL history to date.
Who are the key performers?
Andre Russell owns 699 runs at 41.11 at the Eden Gardens in 29 IPL games (SR: 200.86). The tally also includes 27 wickets. KKR skipper Nitish Rana has accumulated 450 runs here at 34.61. Sunil Narine boasts 56 wickets in 45 games at this venue (ER: 6.25). Among RCB players, Virat Kohli (332 runs at 41.50) has been among the runs here.
A look at the Probable XI of both teams
KKR Probable Playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy. RCB Probable Playing XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj.
