Can RCB pull off a season-opening hat-trick? | IPL 2021 Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders: SWOT Analysis

Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to extend their winning streak this season when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in Match 10 of IPL 2021 at M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Here is the analysis of the two teams.

SWOT for RCB

Strengths: The team’s batsmen seem to be in good form. Captain Virat Kohli has scored 66 runs in two matches. AB de Villiers fetched a 48 in RCB’s first match while Glenn Maxwell hit a half-century against SRH. If Devdutt Padikkal too starts firing at the top of the order, then RCB will have an enviable batting lineup.

Weaknesses: Usually, Virat Kohli’s go-to man to pick wickets and break partnerships, Yuzvendra Chahal, has endured a slow start to his season. Chahal is yet to pick a wicket and he has been hammered for 70 runs in the eight overs that he has bowled so far.

Opportunities: The all-round pairing of Daniel Christian and Kyle Jamieson looks promising on paper. The duo has not been forced to flex their muscles much in the first two matches, but these two all-rounders have a lot of promise and match-winning performances ahead of them.

Threats: RCB have a slightly poor head-to-head record against KKR. Virat Kohli would be aware of this and would want to improve that.

SWOT for KKR

Strengths: KKR seem to have finally resolved their top-order issues. Opener Nitish Rana has hit back-to-back fifties. Rahul Tripathi has one fifty already this season and Shubhman Gill is always one inning away from getting back to form. After struggling for much of the last season to find the right opening pair, KKR’s top-order this season looks promising.

Weaknesses: The middle-order consisting of Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell and Dinesh Karthik looks a bit shaky at the moment. The three batsmen have collectively scored only 53 runs. Russell’s horror show with the bat against MI was the reason KKR choked in the chase. Ironically, these three batsmen are well known for their exploits in white-ball cricket and considered some of the best finishers in the shorter versions of cricket.

Opportunity: On the slow pitches of Chennai, KKR could take a gamble and play Sunil Narine ahead of Pat Cummins. That would give KKR four quality spinners, Varun Chakravarthy, Harbhajan Singh, Sunil Narine, and Shakib Al Hasan, in their playing XI. So Narine may get a chance this match.

Threats: KKR are coming into this match after an inexplicable loss. Moreover, their recent form against RCB doesn’t inspire much confidence either. Last season, KKR were bowled-out on just 84 and 112 in 20 overs in the two matches the team played against RCB. If the form and history is to be believed, then KKR will be having another tough outing.

Head-to-Head

Matches played: 26

RCB: 12

KKR: 14

Form Guide (Last five matches)

RCB: W-W-W-L-L

KKR: L-W-W-W-L

Team news

On the eve of the match, RCB informed that all-rounder Daniel Sams has joined the team’s bio-bubble after testing negative for Covid-19. KKR have no fitness issues.

Deccan Herald’s Dream XI

Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Nitish Rana, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy

Impact player for RCB

Washington Sundar: The all-rounder might not have done anything worth mentioning so far this season, but Sundar did manage to pick 3 wickets against KKR last season and twice he picked the wicket of KKR captain Eoin Morgan. If Morgan walks out to bat, he will surely be watchful against Sundar.

Impact player for KKR

Andre Russell: The all-rounder may be struggling with the bat, but Russell is turning out to be a great bowler for KKR in the death overs. In the five overs that Russell has bowled in the death, he has given away only 47 runs and picked 6 wickets. His pinpoint yorkers and slow balls are proving to be difficult for the batsmen to handle.