KKR LOOK TO FIX OPENING ISSUES, RCB FACE SPIN ISSUES

The 30th match of VIVO IPL 2021 will be played between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) today. Both the teams have played 7 games till now, out of which Kolkata Knight Riders have won 2 games while Royal Challengers Bangalore have won 5 games.

Kolkata Knight Riders are currently in 6th place on the points table. The team lost its previous game against Delhi Capitals as they failed to defend a par-total scored by its batters. After losing the toss, Kolkata was invited to bat first. Nitish Rana failed to play a big inning this time, Shubman Gill scored 43 runs off 38 deliveries and seems to have gained back his long-lost form.

Rahul Tripathi contributed 19 runs with the bat. Eoin Morgan and Sunil Narine both departed for a duck. Towards the end, Andre Russell scored 45 runs off 27 deliveries and led the team to a respectable total of 154 runs. But this total was not enough against the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Shikhar Dhawan, and the opposition chased this total with more than 3 overs left.

Pat Cummins was the sole wicket-taker for Kolkata in this game and picked 3 wickets. The team has issues in the middle-order as well as bowling as the big names have failed to deliver up to the expectations.

Talking about Royal Challengers Bangalore, the team is currently at 3rd place on the points table. In their last game against Punjab Kings (PBKS), the team fell flat while chasing as the batting lineup was trapped in the web woven by Harpreet Brar. After winning the toss, the skipper decided to bowl first, in response to this, Punjab Kings scored 179 runs on the board.

Kyle Jamieson picked 2 wickets while Yuzvendra Chahal, Daniel Sams, and Shahbaz Ahmad picked one wicket each. While chasing this total, opener Devdutt Padikkal succumbed cheaply to pacer Riley Meredith. Virat Kohli scored 35 runs while Rajat Patidar scored 31 runs. Towards the end, Harshal Patel contributed 31 runs off just 13 deliveries but in vain as the team was decimated for 145 runs and faced a loss by 34 runs. The team must learn from its mistakes and look forward positively to the upcoming games.

KKR

(2 won, 5 losses)

Strengths:

• Depends on Power-hitters like Russell, Morgan & Karthik

• Pat Cummins and Varun Chakravarthy are the asset in bowling

Weaknesses:

• Batting collapse is a big problem

• Shivam Mavi & P Krishna`s performance is fluctuating

RCB

(5 won, 2 losses)

Strengths:

• Maxwell and AB de Villiers are a top performer

• Danieal Sams performed well in fast bowling

Weaknesses:

• A Batting collapse in the last match against Kings

• Virat and Devdutt Padikkal`s performance is not consistent

• Sometimes Harshal Patel is very expensive