IPL 2023, RCB vs KKR: Virat Kohli elects to field
Royal Challengers Bangalore will look for redemption when they welcome Kolkata Knight Riders at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. RCB lost the first fixture against KKR, but they are coming off two consecutive wins. Meanwhile, KKR have lost four on the bounce. RCB's stand-in skipper Virat Kohli has won the toss and elected to field.
Virat Kohli continues to lead RCB
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): N Jagadeesan (wicket-keeper), Jason Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (captain), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, David Wiese, Vaibhav Arora, Umesh Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy. Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli (captain), Shahbaz Ahmed, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wicket-keeper), Suyash Prabhudessai, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harshal Patel, and Mohammed Siraj.
Pitch report, timing, and streaming details
This will be RCB's sixth home game this season (W: 3, L:2). The pitch in Bangalore is generally very good for batters as they can hit through the line and the shorter dimensions help their cause. In all the previous five matches, teams batting first have posted 170-plus runs. Star Sports will telecast the match, fans can also live-stream it on JioCinema from 7:30pm.
A look at the head-to-head record
Both teams have played each other a total of 31 times in the IPL. While many matches have gone down to the wire, KKR has the edge with 17 wins in comparison to RCB's 14. The last time they met was in this season when KKR won by 81 runs. Shardul Thakur slammed a 29-ball 68 and became the Man of the Match.
Who are the key performers?
Faf du Plessis is batting like a dream. He has amassed 405 runs at an average of 67.50. Mohammed Siraj is the joint-leading wicket-taker with 13 wickets in seven matches. Virat Kohli has also slammed 279 runs at 46.50 and is in good touch. Venkatesh Iyer has mustered 254 runs while striking at 159.74. Having scalped 10 wickets, Varun Chakravarthy is KKR's leading wicket-taker.
