Indian Premier League 2019 Match 35, Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

Royal Challengers Bangalore are in a hopeless position, at the bottom of the table, having lost seven of their eight matches. However, they still head into this clash – their ninth – on Friday, 19 April against Kolkata Knight Riders with hope.

A lot of that has to do with their newest recruit – a certain Dale Steyn. Bangalore’s bowlers have been floundering. The batsmen haven’t done too shabbily too often, but even when the batsmen have posted something half-decent, the bowlers have undone the good work. It is why there is plenty of hope placed on Steyn.

The South Africa legend is in decent form – he took three-wicket hauls in consecutive matches for Titans in the One-Day Cup, and has generally had a good time since his return from injury in international cricket. Despite that, he went unsold. He’ll be eager to prove his worth.

That said, the game is about more than one individual. Even assuming Steyn hits the ground running, the rest of the attack will need to support him, the batsmen will have to give them totals to defend. The only good thing, from Bangalore’s perspective, is that Kolkata aren’t doing too well either – they have lost three consecutive matches, a run in which even Andre Russell’s magic went in vain.

Without him, their batsmen have underwhelmed, and the bowlers have just lacked bite. Both teams are desperate for victory – both teams have hope. It should make for an interesting clash.

Head to head

Bangalore and Kolkata have clashed in 24 matches over the course of their IPL rivalry. Kolkata have dominated the match-ups – they have won 15 of those matches. Bangalore will be aiming for their 10th win on Friday.

In fact, Bangalore haven’t tasted victory over Kolkata since 2016 – the year they reached the final. Since then, Kolkata have won five consecutive matches against Bangalore. The signs are ominous.

Key players

Dinesh Karthik (Kolkata Knight Riders): The Kolkata captain’s form has been a microcosm of his team’s. He has reached 50 just once in his eight outings, and had he not been captain, there would have been question marks regarding his place in the squad. However, he was recently called up to India’s World Cup 2019 squad – will that boost him into a performance?

Dale Steyn (Royal Challengers Bangalore): The South African ace has something to prove to the various IPL franchises. He’s a legend of the game, but still had to go unsold during the auctions. He has a chance now to revive his reputation – and when Steyn has something to prove, the opposition better watch out.

Likely XIs

Kolkata Knight Riders: Chris Lynn, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik (c/wk), Andre Russell, Shubman Gill, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Harry Gurney

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dubey, Akshdeep Nath, Pawan Negi, Dale Steyn, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal

Prediction

Steyn to impress, but Kolkata to prevail at home