Confirmed XI:
Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Robin Uthappa(w), Gautam Gambhir(c), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Suryakumar Yadav, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Sunil Narine, Ankit Rajpoot, Morne Morkel
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Lokesh Rahul(w), Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Iqbal Abdulla, Chris Jordan, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal
The 48th match of the VIVO IPL 2016 is all set to be a treat for fans as the rampaging Kolkata Knight Riders take on the powerful Royal Challengers Bangalore at their home ground, the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. KKR have had a great season so far with 7 victories from 11 games and they are just one more win away from a spot in the playoffs. RCB have been among the more inconsistent sides in the tournament but have managed to pick up important wins to keep their chances of qualifying alive. Monday's match is of greater importance to the Bangalore team as they need to win the game to be in a better position to progress. However, even though Kolkata can afford to lose the match, they will be wanting to seal a berth in the playoffs as early as possible.
Here is the likely team which may represent KKR in the match:
Batting
The Knight Riders batting line-up has been in good form throughout the 9th edition of the IPL. Skipper Gautam Gambhir has been their leading run-scorer with 398 runs at an average of 44.22 and including 4 half-centuries. Robin Uthappa, too, has been resolute at the top of the order with 331 runs in 11 innings and has scored at a strike rate of slightly under 137.
Hard-hitting middle-order batsman Yusuf Pathan has also been in devastating form with a tally of 265 runs in 9 innings and a phenomenal strike rate in excess of 165. Among other batsmen, Andre Russell, Suryakumar Yadav and Manish Pandey have made useful contributions for the KKR side.
Shakib Al Hasan had been the only worry for Kolkata in terms of their batting but he, too, struck form with an unbeaten 66 in a match against Gujarat Lions.
All-rounders
Russell has been one of the top all-rounders in the 2016 IPL with quick runs in the last few overs and quite a number of wickets in his kitty. Shakib has done decently with the ball despite being a little out of touch with his batting. Pathan, though, has not been used as an all-rounder by skipper Gambhir as he has bowled just one over in the season.
Bowling
The bowling has been quite impressive from KKR this year and has helped their campaign in a big way. Andre Russell has grabbed 15 wickets and is currently the second highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has also been consistent and has a tally of 11 wickets from the 10 matches he has played till now.
Pacer Umesh Yadav has been in decent form with 10 wickets in 9 games; however, he has proved to be slightly expensive with an economy rate of 9. Morne Morkel, Sunil Narine, Shakib Al Hasan and Brad Hogg have all picked wickets for Kolkata. The form of the bowlers has been a great relief for their captain as he has a lot of resources at his disposal.
Probable Playing XI
Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Manish Pandey, Yusuf Pathan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Piyush Chawla, Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel.
Here's a look at the team which may play for RCB on Monday:
Batting
The RCB batting has been all about the two colossal batsmen in their team, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Kohli has been in outstanding form and is miles ahead of others in the race for the Orange Cap with 677 runs, including a record number of centuries in a single edition of the IPL - 3. de Villiers, meanwhile, is 2nd on the list of leading run-scorers this year as he has 538 runs from 11 innings at an average of close to 54.
Apart from their incredible duo, the Challengers have also had the luxury of other batsmen doing well. KL Rahul, in particular, has been highly impressive with a tally of 332 runs at an average of over 55. There are a number of batsmen in the team who have not had too many chances to prove themselves much with the bat due to the dominance of the top order.
All-rounders
Shane Watson has been the key all-rounder for RCB in the current season by contributing heavily with the ball and also getting some useful runs in the last few overs. Stuart Binny has been the only other prominent all-rounder to have played a lot this year but he has not done much of note in terms of his performance.
Bowling
Watson has been the leader of the pack among the Bangalore bowlers and has already claimed 14 wickets in the 2016 IPL. Leggie Yuzvendra Chahal had not been at his best in the initial stages of the tournament; however, he has been quite impressive over the past few games and currently has 11 wickets in 8 matches.
RCB's newest acquisition Chris Jordan had been struggling in his first three games but picked up 4 for 11 in his team's last match against Gujarat Lions to make amends. Pacer Sreenath Aravind has looked decent for his 4 wickets and has also been pretty economical. Not many other bowlers have been able to make an impact for the Challengers with the ball.
Probable Playing XI
Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, KL Rahul (wk), Shane Watson, Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Chris Jordan, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal, Iqbal Abdulla.
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