Kolkata Knight Riders will play host to Royal Challengers Bangalore in Match No. 9 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday. Nitish Rana’s KKR are searching for their first win of the season after losing rain-hit first game to Punjab Kings by 7 runs (DLS method) last week.
Faf du Plessis-led RCB, on the other hand, started off the IPL 2023 in explosive fashion, hammering five-time champions Mumbai Indians by eight wickets with more than 3 overs to spare. Half-centuries by Du Plessis and former captain Virat Kohli powered RCB chase at Bengaluru. Kohli’s last ton in IPL, in fact, came against KKR and he will look to replicate the same at the iconic Eden Gardens stadium on Thursday night.
RCB, who reached the IPL 2022 Playoffs stage, will look to become the third team after Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings to win their first two matches of IPL 2023. KKR, on the other hand, are dogged by injuries – including one to their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer. His replacement Jason Roy is yet to join the Shah Rukh Khan-owned Knight Riders and will be unavailable for the RCB match.
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL 2023 Match No. 9 Details
- Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
- Date & Time: April 6, 730pm IST onwards
- Live Streaming and TV details: Star Sports Network and Jio Cinema website and app.
KKR vs RCB IPL 2023 Match No. 9 Dream11 Prediction
- Wicketkeeper: Rahmanullah Gurbaz
- Batters: Venkatesh Iyer, Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli
- All-rounders: Andre Russell, Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell
- Bowlers: Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Siraj, Karn Sharma
- Captain: Virat Kohli
- Vice-captain: Michael Bracewell
KKR vs RCB IPL 2023 Match No 9 Predicted 11
Kolkata Knight Riders: Mandeep Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Anukul Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur/Kulwant Khejroliya, Umesh Yadav, Tim Southee
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Suyash Prabhudessai, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, David Willey, Karn Sharma
KKR vs RCB Pitch Report
The pitch at Eden Gardens has historically been a great batting track with spinners coming into the game later on in the innings. There have been a total of 12 T20Is played at Eden Gardens where teams batting second have won on seven occasions. The highest total recorded at the venue is 201/5 by Pakistan against Bangladesh. Keeping the past record in mind, the captain winning the toss will look to bowl first.
KKR vs RCB Probable Best Performers
- Probable Best Batter
- Virat Kohli:
- Having regained his form in all three formats, Kohli started his IPL 2023 campaign on a high with a sensational knock of 82* off 49 balls. He smacked six fours and five sixes in his innings and helped RCB chase down the target of 172 with utmost ease. Coming into the tournament, Kohli has looked hungry for runs and is likely to continue his form against KKR as well.
- Probable Best Bowler
- Mohammed Siraj:
- The right-arm seamer put on a magnificent display of swing bowling with the new ball as he didn’t allow MI batters to let loose in the first game. Siraj will once again look to give a brilliant start to his side with the new ball and pick up some crucial wickets at the top.