IPL 2022: RCB vs KKR Preview – Teams brace for a fierce battle

The Royal Challengers Bangalore will be locking horns with the Kolkata Knight Riders in the sixth match of the IPL 2022 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on March 30. Both teams will be heading into this contest on the back of contrasting results.

While KKR got the better of the defending champions Chennai Super Kings in the curtain-raiser at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on March 26 by six wickets, RCB went down against Punjab Kings in a high-scoring thriller by five wickets. Thus, the two-time champions would be eyeing a second straight win under their belt whereas Bangalore would be eager to register their first two points this season.

Meanwhile, both teams would also be missing out on the services of a few of the overseas recruits as they are busy with their national commitments. The Australian players Pat Cummins and Aaron Finch (KKR) as well as Glenn Maxwell, Josh Hazlewood and Jason Behrendorff (RCB) will only be able to take the field in IPL 2022 after April 5 due to Cricket Australia (CA)’s central contract rule.

Expected Playing XI for RCB vs KKR

Royal Challengers Bangalore

The Bengaluru-based franchise would be relying on the star-studded batting lineup of skipper Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, etc. to come out firing all cylinders like they did in the first game and their bowlers including the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga would be expected to put up a better performance.

Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR will be confident after senior batter Ajinkya Rahane found his touch back with a fine 44 against CSK. They would be hoping that Nitish Rana and skipper Shreyas Iyer will make significant contributions and a lot will be expected from the hard-hitting Andre Russell as well. The bowling line-up looks set with Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy in their arsenal.