RCB vs KKR Dream11 Prediction & Dotball Picks, Fantasy Cricket Tips & Playing XI Updates - April 5th, 2019

Four matches, four defeats. It has been a sorry tale for perennial under-performers Royal Challengers Bangalore so far. They head into their next match with a stern test awaiting in the form of Kolkata Knight Riders in what promises to be an exciting match-up at the Chinnaswamy on Friday. Big money signings, Shivam Dube and Shimron Hetmyer haven't lived up to the hype, resulting in more pressure upon their star-duo, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, who are yet to hit their strides this season.

KKR on the other hand, find themselves with two wins out of three courtesy of Andre Russell, who has starred with both bat and ball. With another run-fest on the cards in Bangalore, RCB should back themselves to register their first two points in the IPL Points Table although KKR head into this match as slight favourites.

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Squads to choose from

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli(C), Parthiv Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Singh, Akshdeep Nath, Shimron Hetmyer, Colin de Grandhomme, Shivam Dube, Himmat Singh, Milind Kumar, Marcus Stoinis, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar, Prayas Ray Barman, Heinrich Klaasen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Kulwant Khejroliya, Tim Southee, Nathan Coulter-Nile

Kolkata Knight Riders

Dinesh Karthik(C), Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Piyush Chawla, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Prithvi Raj, Sandeep Warrier, Shrikant Mundhe, Harry Gurney, KC Cariappa, Joe Denly, Lockie Ferguson, Rinku Singh, Nikhil Naik.

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Playing XI Updates

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Shimron Hetmyer is in danger of losing his place to one of Colin de Grandhomme or Nathan Coulter-Nile. Coulter-Nile's inclusion could well strengthen the death bowling, which has been RCB's weakest link over their twelve-year history although his fitness is in question as well. Akshdeep Nath didn't get a chance to bat in the previous game and should keep his place in all likelihood while Saini could make way for Negi considering the number of right-handers in the KKR line-up.

Possible XI: Parthiv (WK), Moeen Ali, Virat (C), ABD, Stoinis, Hetmyer/Coulter-Nile, Nath, Negi/Saini, Umesh, Chahal and Siraj.

Kolkata Knight Riders:

The experiment to use hard-hitter Nikhil Naik instead of Narine at the top of the order failed and could see the Maharashtra keeper drop out, paving way for Joe Denly, or a fit Narine. The rest of the side looks fairly settled although Chris Lynn and Kuldeep Yadav's form is a cause for concern. Nitish Rana, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik are all in fine form and would be key in the middle overs with their trump card Andre Russell in amazing touch with the bat.

Possible XI: Lynn, Narine/Denly, Uthappa, Rana, Russell, Karthik (C & WK), Gill, Chawla, Kuldeep, Prasidh and Lockie.

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Match Details

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Indian Premier League 2019, Match 17

5th April 2019, 8:00 PM IST

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

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RCB vs KKR Head to Head

Total Matches Played: 23

RCB: 9 (39.1%)

KKR: 14 (60.9%)

Matches in Bangalore: 10 (4 RCB, 6 KKR)

Last 5 Matches: 1 RCB 4 KKR

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Previous Encounters

Last Match: 29 April 2018 - KKR (176-4, 19.1 overs) beat RCB (175-4, 20 overs) by 6 wickets, Bangalore

Man of the Match: Chris Lynn (62 off 52)

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Fantasy Tips and Suggestions

Wicket-keeper: Dinesh Karthik struck a flawless fifty in the previous game against Delhi Capitals and should be the ideal selection ahead of Parthiv Patel, who is due for failure after a good start to the campaign.

Batsmen: Chris Lynn has only happy memories to fall back to as he prepares to face his favourites opponents, RCB. It was his near-impossible grab against RCB in 2014 that propelled him into the limelight. With scores of 50 and 62 in his last games at the Chinnaswamy, he is a must-have in the side along with the likes of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill. One of AB de Villiers or Robin Uthappa could fill in as the final option with their records in Bangalore directing towards their selection.

All-rounders: Andre Russell and Marcus Stoinis are two of the best pace-bowling allrounders in the world and should be able to rake in a good number of points come Friday while Moeen Ali is also a decent option to fall back to as a different option.

Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are must have players with their loopy leg-spin bound to yield a wicket or two while Mohammed Siraj looks in good form as well. At his home ground, Prasidh Krishna is also a great prospect and should be backed to put in a telling performance against RCB.

Captain: Virat Kohli and Chris Lynn should be backed to score some vital runs and bounce back to their usual best while the prospect of an in-form Russell and a relatively weaker opposition bowling is also something to be considered.

Dotball Fantasy Suggestion #1: Dinesh Karthik (WK), Virat Kohli, Chris Lynn, Shubman Gill, Moeen Ali, Marcus Stoinis, Andre Russell, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Captain: Virat Kohli

Dotball Fantasy Suggestion #2: Parthiv Patel (WK), Virat Kohli, Chris Lynn, Nitish Rana, AB de Villiers, Marcus Stoinis, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Captain: Chris Lynn