Mohammad Shami, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Dushmantha Chameera – IPL 2022 has so far been a tournament for the new-ball bowlers. With dew accumulating late at night, striking with the new ball becomes important. And this aspect will be in focus on Wednesday evening as the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Match 6 of the tournament at the Dy Patil Stadium at Navi Mumbai.
The two teams are coming into this fixture following contrasting outcomes. RCB, led by Faf du Plessis, failed to defend 205 against Punjab Kings in their first game, at the D.Y. Patil stadium. KKR, on the other hand, restricted defending champions Chennai to a mere 131/5 and won comfortably by six wickets in the tournament opener, at Wankhede Stadium.
The toss, while important, is an uncontrollable, and the RCB bowlers would want to come up with a better show against the power-packed KKR batting line-up. Mohammed Siraj has troubled the KKR top order in the past, but has failed to take a single wicket in the Powerplay in his last 10 IPL matches. David Willey went wicketless in the last game, while strike bowlers like Harshal Patel and Wanindu Hasaranga got just a wicket apiece, conceding 36 and 40 respectively.
The KKR think-tank, meanwhile, would plan on containing the likes of du Plessis and Kohli. With no Glenn Maxwell in the RCB batting line-up yet, they are a bit over dependent on these two. And du Plessis had dominated the KKR bowling in the last season.
The Kolkata management will thus want to attack the top-heavy RCB line-up with the new ball. Tim Southee is out of quarantine and available for selection. They had played three overseas players in the last game, but for this match, the experience of Southee with the new ball may come handy. He can come into the XI for Shivam Mavi, who struggled against Chennai.
Bowling with the wet ball in the middle overs can be a challenge for the likes of Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. However, the dimensions of the DY Patil Stadium are bigger compared to other Mumbai grounds, which can encourage the spinners.
Likely XIs
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Anuj Rawat, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
Kolkata Knight Riders: Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Nitish Rana, Shreyas Iyer (c), Sam Billings, Andre Russell, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Sunil Narine, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy
Fantasy tips
- Du Plessis had the upper hand against the KKR attack twice in the last season, including the final. Back him to do well yet again on this classic batting track.
- Russell and Narine strike at 215 and 196 respectively against RCB. KKR will look to utilise their all-round skills to the fullest in this match. Pick both.
- Against the KKR power-hitters in the middle overs, Hasaranga can be a handy option. He went for runs against PBKS, but some KKR batters have hardly ever faced him, which can be a plus for the Sri Lankan spinner.
Where to watch
Live streaming of Match 6 of IPL 2022 between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will start at 7.30 PM IST on March 30. You can watch the match on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.