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Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL Tips - Hosts good value for their 6s

By Sridhar Bhamidi

05 Apr 2023

Sridhar Bhamidi 05 Apr 2023

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Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL match predictions to be played in Kolkata on Thursday, April 6 at 7:30pm IST
Kolkata Knight Riders have hit the most 6s in 7 of their last 8 IPL matches against RCB
Kolkata Knight Riders have hit the most 6s of the match in 9 of their last 10 IPL matches at this venue
Virat Kohli has 2 scores of 50+ in his last 4 matches at this venue against KKR
Can the visitors earn another win to continue their momentum in IPL 2023?

Will Virat Kohli rekindle his love affair with the Eden Gardens? (Getty Images)

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL

IPL action returns to Eden Gardens as one of the iconic grounds of Indian cricket awaits one of the blockbuster clashes of IPL 2023. Match #9 will see Kolkata Knight Riders play host to Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 6, Thursday with action set to start from 7:30pm IST.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL
Head to Head
Kolkata Knight Riders Form
Kolkata Knight Riders Team News
Royal Challengers Bangalore Form
Royal Challengers Bangalore Team News

Contrasting starts to the campaign later, both teams will be looking for a win as they seek early mover’s advantage in the season. KKR have been struggling against RCB in the recent times but our pick is specific areas. I am backing Kolkata Knight Riders to strike the most 6s while a small wager can be put on Virat Kohli scoring a fifty.

Kolkata Knight Riders have struck the maximum 6s of the match in 7 of their last 8 matches against Royal Challengers Bangalore (IPL)
Kolkata Knight Riders have hit the most 6s of the match in 9 of their last 10 matches at this venue (IPL)
Royal Challengers Bangalore have posted the highest opening partnership of the match in 7 of their last 10 matches against Kolkata Knight Riders (IPL)
Virat Kohli has scored 2 50+ scores in his last 4 matches against Kolkata Knight Riders at this venue (IPL)

Head to Head

These two sides have so far played 31 matches with the Knight Riders winning 17 against the Royal Challengers’ 14. Yet, it is the Bangalore side that has an edge in recent times with five wins out of the last seven.

Last season saw RCB chase down 129 in the 20th over of the chase in a scrappy encounter. A couple of 20s from Sherfane Rutherford and Shahbaz Ahmed helped the chase while a late cameo from Harshal Patel aced the target. All this, after Wanindu Hasaranga’s four-wicket haul led their bowling charge.

Kolkata Knight Riders Form

The Knight Riders started their season with a seven-run loss to Punjab Kings by DLS method. It was a close-run thing as KKR lost two wickets just before the rain break that eventually aided their defeat.

Tim Southee took 2/54 while Varun Chakaravarthy & Umesh Yadav combined for 8-0-53-2 to help restrict the Punjab Kings to 191/5. There were four batters who got into the 20s but no one posted better than Andre Russell’s 35.

The pitch at Eden Gardens was lively over the last few seasons and it would be interesting to see if that’s the case. Lockie Ferguson could fancy a game in that case.

Kolkata Knight Riders Team News

Regular captain Shreyas Iyer is going under the knife ruling him out of the entire competition. For now, it will be Nitish Rana leading the side as they look to balance their foreign player quota.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Form

The Royal Challengers were much more comprehensive in their opening match, defeating Mumbai Indians by eight wickets in Bengaluru.

It was a game defined by the 148-run opening partnership between Faf du Plessis (82*) and Virat Kohli (73) who made sure the target is reached with 22 balls remaining.

Every bowler chipped in for RCB earlier in that game with Karn Sharma the pick with 2/32. The fifth bowler quota could be a concern as Glenn Maxwell and Michael Bracewell looked inadequate.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Team News

Reece Topley dislocated his shoulder and is out of this match for the Royal Challengers. They are also without Rajat Patidar who has been ruled out of the tournament with a foot injury.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL FAQs

Where can I watch the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL live stream?

Our live streaming calendar shows you where to watch the Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL live stream.

What time does Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL start?

This Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore IPL match is being played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata at 7:30pm IST on Thursday, April 6.

Verdict

From their performances in the first match, it is the Royal Challengers who should start here as favourites. Kolkata are likely to bank on their firepower which should give them a good chance to top the sixes count. I am backing KKR to hot the most 6s of the match while Virat Kohli is a good pick to score a fifty.