IPL 2021: Match 31, KKR vs RCB Match Prediction – Who will win today’s IPL match?

In their previous meeting, RCB beat the Knights comfortably by 38 runs.

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In their previous meeting, RCB beat the Knights comfortably by 38 runs.

Preview 

Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore are geared up to lock horns in Match No.31 of the 2021 Indian Premier League on Monday at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. The Knights, led by Eoin Morgan, are languishing at the bottom half of the points table and need a win to climb the ladder.

Moreover, Pat Cummins’ withdrawal from the tournament has also crippled them to some extent. But the fact that they had a decent run while playing in Abu Dhabi during the 2020 IPL would give them some sort of confidence. The Challengers, on the other hand, have faced some roadblocks.

A number of players withdrew from the tournament for various reasons. But they have been able to rope in useful replacements, including Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga, who’s had a great run in international cricket. In their previous meeting, RCB beat the Knights comfortably by 38 runs.

Match Details

Match – Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – 31st match

Venue – Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Time – 7:30 PM IST, 02:00 PM GMT

Where to watch live – Star Sports Network, Hotstar

Pitch Report

The pitch in Abu Dhabi has generally been an excellent one for batting. During the 2020 IPL, the chasing teams found it relatively easy to chase down targets. Even in the PSL 2021, the matches turned out to be high-scoring. Batting second should be the preferred option for both teams. A high-scoring game seems to be on the cards.

Avg first innings score: 162 (22 matches in IPL 2020 at Abu Dhabi)

Record of chasing teams: Won – 13, Lost – 9, Tied – 0

Probable Playing XIs:

Kolkata Knight Riders

Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan (c), Sunil Narine/Shakib Al Hasan, Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Shivam Mavi/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lockie Ferguson/Tim Southee, Varun Chakravarthy, Prasidh Krishna

Bench: Karun Nair, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sunil Narine/Shakib Al Hasan, Venkatesh Iyer, Ben Cutting, Pawan Negi, Shivam Mavi/Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Lockie Ferguson/Tim Southee, Sheldon Jackson, Tim Seifert, Harbhajan Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sandeep Warrier, Vaibhav Arora

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Tim David/Wanindu Hasaranga, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Bench: Akash Deep, Tim David/Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Dan Christian, Pavan Deshpande, George Garton, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Sachin Baby, Navdeep Saini

Head-to-Head

Overall

Played – 28 | Kolkata Knight Riders – 15 | Royal Challengers Bangalore– 13 |N/R – 0

In the UAE

Played – 3 | Kolkata Knight Riders – 1 | Royal Challengers Bangalore– 2 |N/R – 0

Probable best batsman of the match

AB de Villiers— Royal Challengers Bangalore

AB de Villiers was RCB’s standout batter in the first leg of IPL 2021. The right-hander smashed 207 runs in six innings at an average of 51.75 and a strike rate of 164.28. The last time when KKR faced RCB, de Villiers smashed an unbeaten 34-ball 76, helping his team over the line. It goes without saying that the KKR bowlers can’t afford to let him settle down.

Probable best bowler of the match

Varun Chakravarthy– Kolkata Knight Riders

Varun Chakravarthy is someone who can bowler in the powerplay as well as at the death. He has the skills up his sleeves to bamboozle batters. In fact, the tweaker came into the light after his decent shows in the 2020 IPL in the UAE. During the event, he also picked up a five-wicket haul, showing his utility. In this IPL, Varun has picked up seven wickets at 7.82.

Today’s match prediction: The team, batting second to win the match.

Disclaimer: This prediction is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While making your prediction, consider the points mentioned, and make your own decision.

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