IPL 2023: Match 36, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Predicted Playing XI vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) sealed back-to-back victories when they edged last year's finalists Rajasthan Royals in a hard-fought IPL 2023 contest at the Chinnaswamy in their previous encounter. The Bangalore-based franchise will take on a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in their upcoming fixture, hoping to make it three wins in three matches.

Check Here👉 RCB vs KKR Live Score and Updates

RCB's South African batting star Faf du Plessis is racking up the runs for his side despite injury concerns and is also getting valiant support from Aussie all-rounder Glenn Maxwell in the middle-order. Harshal Patel also compiled a much-improved performance against the Royals, helping his side to victory in a tense final few overs of the match.

Here's Royal Challengers Bangalore's predicted XI against Kolkata Knight Riders:

Openers: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli

RCB's star opener might not be able to take the field due to his injury issues, but the batting ace is showing no half-measures against the bowlers with the bat in hand. Faf du Plessis smashed 62 runs in just 39 deliveries to provide a rollicking start to his side in the powerplay. He also strengthened his position at the summit of the run-scoring chart in IPL 2023.

Although it was back-to-back victories for RCB's stand-in skipper Virat Kohli, he won't be looking back at the game with fond memories as he was dismissed for a golden duck by Trent Boult on the very first delivery of the match. It will be a great opportunity for him to get among the runs against an under-fire KKR bowling unit.

Middle Order: Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk)

RCB's explosive all-rounder Glenn Maxwell has hit top form in the 16th edition of the tournament as he smashed a match-winning 77 off just 44 deliveries against a star-studded bowling line-up of Rajasthan Royals. He played some trademark cheeky shots during his stay at the crease, which ultimately led to his demise against veteran Indian offie Ravi Ashwin.

Mahipal Lomror was expected to fill the void left by the injury to last year's breakthrough star Rajat Patidar. But the 23-year-old batter has failed to impress in the tournament so far, and it was another disappointing outing for the southpaw against his former side.

Following a breathtaking partnership between Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell, the RCB innings went into a tailspin after a flurry of quick wickets. Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik was only the third RCB batter to reach double figures in the match after his cameo in the latter stages of the first innings.

All-rounders: Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga

Shahbaz Ahmed, who played a decent hand in the game against Delhi Capitals, was promoted up the order after the cheap dismissal of stand-in skipper Virat Kohli in the first over of the match. However, the Indian all-rounder failed to make an impact with the bat and became Trent Boult's second victim in the powerplay. However, he did play a role in the outcome of the match as he took a sharp catch in the second innings to dismiss the Rajasthan skipper.

Sri Lankan bowling ace Wanindu Hasaranga was one of the star performers of IPL 2022, but the mercurial spinner has not been able to find his groove in this year's tournament so far. While he did help pull back things in the latter stages of his bowling spell, he failed to pick a wicket during his quota of four overs.

Bowlers: David Willey, Harshal Patel, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj

The Bangalore-based outfit dropped South African pacer Wayne Parnell in favour of David Willey, and it proved to be a wise decision by the team management as the left-arm pacer was very impressive with the new ball. He picked the crucial wicket of the well-set Devdut Padikkal to derail the RR chase.

Under-fire RCB pacer Harshal Patel dished out a match-winning bowling performance for his side, displaying his quality with the ball in tough situations. Harshal was impeccable with his variations in the dying stages of the match when the batters were looking to go big, especially in the final over. He returned with brilliant figures of 3/32 in his four overs.

Vijaykumar Vyshak has been on the receiving end in the last couple of matches after a sensational IPL debut against the Delhi Capitals. The young pacer, who is still finding his feat in the illustrious competition, was taken for 24 runs in his two overs by the Rajasthan batters.

It was another breathtaking start with the ball from RCB's star pacer Mohammed Siraj as he cleaned up explosive English opener Jos Buttler with a cracker of a delivery. Although Siraj took a bit of tap in the latter stages of the match, the Indian fast-bowling sensation reclaimed the Purple Cap in his side's triumph against the Royals.

Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) Probable Playing XI:

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak

Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) Probable Impact Players:

Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Avinash Singh, Karn Sharma, Siddarth Kaul