Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders Predictions: IPL2021 10th Match Preview

With all the teams having played two matches each, the table stands oddly similar to how it stood at this stage last season, with all teams having 2 points each, and one team ahead with 4 while another lags behind with none. Royal Challengers Bangalore are that lucky team with 4, and they will be looking to extend that lead with another win. Kolkata Knight Riders, on the other hand, are all the way down in 6th place on account of their net run rate, and will no doubt want to climb up to safer heights. Before the Indian captain’s team meets the English captain’s, let’s take a look at how the sides stack up.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Predicted XI vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Sams.

Royal Challengers Bangalore team preview and form

RCB’s last win didn’t come in the decisive way that they would have perhaps liked, but a win is a win and they’ll take it. Batting first against the Sunrisers in their last match, Kohli once again scored a tepid 33 (29), and with almost no other batsman stepping up, it had to be Glenn Maxwell’s 59 (41) that gave RCB the juice it needed to get to a defendable 149. That defense did not start off well, but a magical 2-0-7-3 by Shahbaz Ahmed, and Harshal Patel and Mohammed Siraj’s economical double-wicket hauls meant that they managed to just barely hold their opponents back to win by a narrow 6 runs.

Royal Challengers Bangalore key players vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Glenn Maxwell: Maxwell looks to be in excellent form lately, and when he’s in such a state, he needs to be in this list. 

Devdutt Padikkal: After two poor innings, Padikkal needs to step up and do better.

Harshal Patel: Patel seems to be on fire, and just can’t stop taking wickets.

Mohammed Siraj: Another bowler who’s in excellent touch, Siraj will be eager to get back on the field.

Kolkata Knight Riders

Predicted XI vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Eoin Morgan (c), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Andre Russell, Shakib Al Hasan, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna, Harbhajan Singh.

Kolkata Knight Riders team preview and form

When even Shahrukh Khan (the actor and KKR co-owner, not the Punjab Kings player of the same name) tweets that he’s disappointed in his team’s performance, you know KKR fell short somewhere. Choosing to field first, KKR made the best of Chennai’s slowing pitch to prevent Mumbai from getting what could have been a scary total. Andre Russel’s absurd 2-0-15-5, assisted by Pat Cummins’ double haul saw them looking at only 152 to chase. That chase began superbly, with Nitish Rana leading the way with 57 (47) and Shubman Gill supporting with 33 (24). However, the third-highest number of runs on the scorecard was the 12 extras they got, and their collapse saw them losing the match by 10 runs.

Kolkata Knight Riders key players vs Royal Challengers Bangalore

Nitish Rana: Currently wearing the Orange Cap, Rana will be looking to keep up such performances in order to perhaps make the Indian team for the T20 World Cup.

Rahul Tripathi: He may not have played well last match, but Tripathi showed in the first one that he is a potent threat.

Pat Cummins: For all his skills, we doubt Andre Russell will take 5 wickets every day, but Cummins is consistent.

Shakib Al Hasan: One of the most consistent bowlers in world cricket, Shakib has more than earned his place here. 

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders pitch report and weather conditions

As we have been seeing, the pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai provides plenty of help for spinners, and gets really slow on the tail end of an innings as the ball gets old. Teams winning the toss will want to bat first, and put up 160 or more.

With a virtually non-existent probability of precipitation, the only real respite to a hot Sunday in Chennai will be a nice cool breeze. That being said, the mercury will fall as the sun sets, and the humidity being average will help things. Overall, it’s a good day for cricket.

Can the Royal Challengers string another win together to go on a veritable streak? Or will the Knight Riders trample those dreams to catch up with the former? Find out if our RCB vs KKR predictions come true on Sunday!