IPL 2017| Match 27 Preview: Kolkata Knight Riders Vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kolkata Knight Riders were unlucky that Suresh Raina found his form against them to lead his Gujarat Lions side to victory at the Eden Gardens on Friday and once again, they’ll have their task cut out when they host the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the same venue tonight.

Head to head:

Tied at 9 wins a piece after 18 matches.

Last Meeting:

The Royal Challengers Bangalore crushed the Kolkata Knight Riders by 9 wickets at the Eden Gardens last year.

Predicted Playing XI:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Despite their loss against Gujarat Lions, the two-time champions are still in the top two of the table and are not expected to make any changes for this game.

Sunil Narine, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shakib Al Hasan, Chris Woakes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Last season’s runners-up have been bolstered by the return of AB De Villiers, Samuel Badree and Tymal Mills and trio will certainly be looking to make a difference.

Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (c), AB De Villiers, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Mandeep Singh, Tymal Mills, Stuart Binny, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sreenath Aravind, Pawan Negi, Samuel Badree.

Key Players:

Sunil Narine (KKR)- Having set the new IPL record for most runs scored all in boundaries, during the game against Gujarat Lions, Narine will be looking to do some damage with the bat as well as the ball.

Chris Gayle (RCB)- The ‘World Boss’ crossed 10k T20 runs and struck a game-changing 77 off just 38 balls in the last game and will be looking to prove a point to his former franchise.

Pre-match chatter:

“It’s hard to plan (to bowl against Kohli and Gayle). It’s like army men going into the battlefield”, KKR bowling coach, L. Balaji.

Time: 8 PM

Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

TV Listings: Sony Six HD, Sony Six, Set Max, Sony ESPN