IPL 2022: Match 6- Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Predicted Playing XI against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB))

An upbeat Kolkata Knight Riders will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the sixth match of the IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on March 30. KKR kicked off their campaign with an emphatic six-wicket win over the defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the curtain-raiser at the Wankhede Stadium on March 26.

Kolkata will be taking on a demoralized RCB who suffered a five-wicket loss against the Punjab Kings in their previous encounter and they would be banking on the opportunity to add two more precious points to their tally with yet another win under their belt. After their impressive victory over Chennai and with no injury concerns, the two-time winners would be going with an unchanged XI for this contest as well.

Here’s a look at Kolkata Knight Riders Playing XI for the game against RCB

Openers (Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane)

KKR managed to get their opening combination right to a certain extent in their previous fixture against CSK. After Shubman Gill’s release, the franchise tried to experiment with the opening combination of Venkatesh Iyer and Ajinkya Rahane and it worked as the duo added 43 runs. Rahane succeeded in rediscovering his rhythm on the 22 yards as he scored 44 runs from 34 deliveries. Iyer could only manage a run-a-ball 16 but the southpaw just needs one good innings to get back to form and it could well be against Bangalore.

Middle-order (Shreyas Iyer(c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings, and Sheldon Jackson(wk))

The Kolkata Knight Riders have a rock-solid middle-order and can torment any bowling attack in the tournament once they get set. Skipper Shreyas Iyer has been a consistent performer over the years batting at number three or four in the IPL and he knows a thing or two when it comes to taking the responsibility of the middle-order. Apart from that, the Mumbai cricketer has also made significant contributions in the middle-order donning the India jersey.

Nitish Rana has played many handy knocks for the former champions in the middle-order and the best thing about him is that he can contribute to the team score with some blistering knocks especially when KKR are under pressure. Meanwhile, Sam Billings and wicketkeeper-batter Sheldon Jackson can also play some impactful knocks at this crucial position.

All-rounders (Andre Russell and Sunil Narine)

The Caribbean duo of Andre Russell and Sunil Narine were two of KKR’s mandatory retentions for this season. Apart from their power-hitting abilities, the West Indies megastars are also known to provide vital breakthroughs with the ball in hand. Russell can go on to play match-winning knocks once he is set and can hit the ball out of the park. Kolkata would be expecting him to play the finisher’s role to perfection. The two-time champions can also make full use of the big man’s quota of four overs and he can bowl some well-disguised yorkers with his medium-pace.

Narine, on the other hand, has bamboozled the best batters in the business with his mystery spin but at the same time, has also gone on to play some match-defining innings with the bat. The southpaw is known to disturb a bowler’s line and length with his aggressive batting approach and therefore, he would be looking forward to taking chances in the middle and death overs.

Bowlers (Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, and Varun Chakravarthy)

The RCB batters will need to be watchful against the KKR bowlers during their faceoff on March 30. The onus would once again be on the senior pacer Umesh Yadav to provide timely breakthroughs with the new ball. The Vidarbha speedster was impressive in the first game as he accounted for CSK’s openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway to finish with figures of 2/20 from his four overs.

Emerging pacer Shivam Mavi has been bought back by the franchise and he would be eager to find a mention in the wickets tally after going wicketless against CSK. Varun Chakravarthy, on the other hand, can leave the batters guessing with his mystery spin and also bowl some economical spells. He picked up the key wicket of Robin Uthappa in the last game.