IPL 2019: Match 17, RCB vs KKR Playing 11, Match Preview & Key Players

In a bid to register their first win, Royal Challengers Bangalore will host the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 17th fixture of the Indian Premier League 2019 at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, April 5.

Head to Head Overall Stats: RCB and KKR have come across each other in 23 IPL matches, with the Kolkata outfit winning 14 of those.

Head to Head in M.Chinnaswamy Stadium: In the 10 IPL games hosted by RCB against KKR at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, the hosts have emerged victorious four times, while the Purple Brigade have won the remaining 6 games.

Kolkata Knight Riders Perspective

Kolkata Knight Riders (Source - iplt20/BCCI)

The Kolkata Knight Riders are coming into the game on the back of a nail-biting clash against the Delhi Capitals, who won the game in super over. Though they won't be much pressurised by the defeat, KKR will look to return to winning ways against an out of form Challengers team.

Batting

Key Players - Andre Russel, Robin Uthappa & Nitish Rana

Top order failure means additional pressure on the middle order to play consciously, which certainly resulted in KKR failing to post a mammoth total against Delhi. Though it was no different for Andre Russell as he continued his slaughter against the Capitals by amassing 62 runs from 28 balls and he is likely to make the RCB bowlers scratch their heads.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Kartik went on to score his first fifty of the season and the skipper would love to repeat the feat against RCB. While Chris Lynn (20), Robin Uthappa (11) and Nitish Rana (1) fell cheaply last time out, KKR will need these three to make an impact on Friday.

Bowling

Key Players - Andre Russel, Kuldeep Yadav & Piyush Chawla

Russell has picked up five wickets in three games, while Piyush Chawla has also been among the wickets and KKR will need these two to strike early against RCB. Kuldeep Yadav also joined the party by picking two wickets against the Capitals. While Lockie Ferguson and Prasidh Krishna will be the skipper's key shuffles during the powerplay.

Expected Playing XI

Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (C & W), Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson and Prasidh Krishna.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Perspective

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Source - iplt20/BCCI)

Royal Challengers Bangalore are languishing at the bottom of the IPL table and are still in search of their maiden win of the season. Meanwhile, to address their poor run, skipper Virat Kohli made few changes in the playing XI against Rajasthan Royals but it didn't help their cause.

Batting

Key Players - Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel & AB Devillers

If RCB want to break their duck, then at least two of their top three batsmen need to score big against KKR. Parthiv Patel (67 runs from 41 balls) was the pick of the batters against the Royals and was well supported by Marcus Stoinis (31 runs from 28 balls) as they posted a respectable total of 158 runs. However, RCB will also need their stalwarts Kohli and AB de Villiers to make contributions with the bat or else it'll be another cakewalk for the opponents.

Bowling

Key Players - Yuzvendra Chahal & Mohammad Siraj

The only positive for RCB this season has been the performance of Yuzvendra Chahal, who currently holds the top spot in the purple cap race with eight wickets. He will once again be the team's X-factor against KKR. Batsmen have found it hard to score runs off Mohammad Siraj, who once again finished with an economical figure of 1/25 from his four overs against RR. Siraj and Umesh Yadav will be expected to rattle the opponents early on Friday.

Expected Playing XI

Virat Kohli (C), Parthiv Patel (W), AB de Villiers, Shimron Hetmyer, Marcus Stoinis, Akshdeep Nath (W), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Mohammed Siraj.