IPL 2021: KKR's probable playing XI against Royal Challengers Bangalore
The Morgan-led Kolkata Knight Riders are all set to face Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Eliminator match on Monday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah. Kolkata Knight Riders will be high on confidence as they defeated Rajasthan Royals by a margin of 86 runs in their last outing. After that win, they moved to the 4th spot on the league table and qualified for the playoffs. Let's have a look at the probable playing xi of Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Openers:
Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer
Shubman Gill is set to open with Venkatesh Iyer in the upcoming match against RCB. He played well in the last outing against Rajasthan Royals, having scored 56 runs off 44 balls.
Venkatesh Iyer is a great find for Kolkata Knight Riders in the second phase of the Indian Premier League. The left-handed batsman has accounted for 239 runs after featuring in seven games for KKR.
Middle-order:
Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan
Nitish Rana will take the charge of KKR and might play a crucial inning if the top-order fails. However, he didn't look in good form and has to make a comeback as soon as possible.
The 30-year-old cricketer will handle the middle-order along with Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan. He has played a key role on several occasions and his team will be counting on him.
The wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik is not in the form from the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League. He has to do something to tackle RCB in the upcoming game.
The skipper of the side, Eoin Morgan will do the late hitting for KKR in the slog overs. Like Dinesh Karthik, the English cricketer is yet to score a fifty for the Kolkata-based franchise in the ongoing season.
All-rounders:
Shakib Al Hasan
Bringing up Shakib Al Hasan has paid off for Eoin Morgan and KKR management. He's performing with both the bat and the ball and his team will be counting on him in the upcoming fixture.
Bowlers:
Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson and Varun Chakravarthy
Sunil Narine has given his all for Kolkata Knight Riders in the last couple of years. He is doing his job well with both the bat and the ball.
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The Uttar Pradesh born cricketer Shivam Mavi looked well in the previous match against Rajasthan Royals. He went through the batting lineup and chipped 4 wickets into his bag.
The Newzealand pacer Lockie Ferguson will lead the pace attack for KKR in the next match. Ferguson has the capability of fetching wickets for his skipper in the powerplay overs.
Varun Chakravarthy will handle the spin attack along with Sunil Narine from the other end. He is one of the consistent players for KKR and can contains in the middle overs for his team.