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Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their first home game of IPL 2023 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday, April 6.
KKR will be keen to bring their campaign back on track after losing their first game against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mohali. They fell short by seven runs via the DLS method.
Although they have been hit with multiple issues even before the campaign started, the Knight Riders will look to come out all guns blazing in front of their passionate fans. The likes of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell need to fire to bring KKR to winning ways.
RCB, on the other hand, are off to a flying start this year. They thumped Mumbai Indians (MI) by eight wickets, riding on a 148-run partnership between Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. The team will be brimming with confidence and make it two wins out of two as RCB's hunt for the maiden IPL trophy continues.
The upcoming contest promises to be an exciting one, with both teams boasting some quality players. There will be some interesting duels with teams focusing more on matchups.
On that note, let's take a look at the three player-battles to watch out for in the KKR vs RCB tie.
#1 Faf du Plessis vs Umesh Yadav
RCB skipper Faf du Plessis led the team from the front against Mumbai, scoring a quickfire 73 off 43 balls. The Proteas star looked in good form, hitting the ball all-round the park.
Du Plessis will look to continue his form against the Knight Riders and will be up against Umesh Yadav's raw pace. The senior Team India pacer has plenty of experience playing in these conditions and is a force to be reckoned with.
Umesh can swing the ball both ways and will pose a threat to Bangalore's openers. It would be a treat to watch how Du Plessis tackles Umesh in the powerplay.
#2 Virat Kohli vs Sunil Narine
The former RCB skipper has been in splendid form ever since breaking his century drought last year in the Asia Cup. Virat Kohli, who played a sublime knock (82* off 49 balls) against the Mumbai Indians, has looked confident both on the international front and in the IPL.
KKR skipper Nitish Rana is likely to introduce Sunil Narine inside the powerplay to nullify Kohli's threat, given the form he is in. The West Indian spinner has plenty of tricks up his sleeve and is a difficult bowler to tackle.
It will be enticing to see when two of the game's modern-day greats try to take on each other and put their team on top.
#3 Andre Russell vs Karn Sharma
Andre Russell is one of the fiercest hitters of the cricket ball right now. He showed glimpses of his abilities during his 19-ball 35-run knock against Punjab, hitting three boundaries and two sixes.
Du Plessis will be tempted to unleash leg-spinner Karn Sharma when Russell comes out to bat. The senior spinner, who picked up two wickets in the last game, will take the ball away from the batter, making it difficult for the West Indian all-rounder to hit against the line.
It will be interesting to see how Russell tackles Karn and scores some quick runs for his side.
