KKR Vs RCB, IPL 2024: Three Key Player Battles To Watch Out For

Kolkata Knight Riders will lock horns with Royal Challengers Bengaluru in match 36 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the first fixture of Sunday. (Streaming | Full IPL 2024 Coverage)

The Faf du Plessis-led RCB are at the bottom of the points table and desperately need a win against KKR in their next match. Both teams have already played each other in the ongoing tournament and KKR witnessed a big victory of seven wickets against them in that match.

RCB's bowling department needs some changes as they conceded 287 runs in their last game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Dinesh Karthik and du Plessis played crucial knocks in that match but the target proved more than enough as they lost the match by 25 runs.

KKR boasts of a strong batting lineup, with their opening batsmen Sunil Narine and Phil Salt delivering outstanding performances in the last two games. Angkrish Raghuvanshi has also showcased his batting skills, while Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana have provided excellent support to Mitchell Starc.

KKR vs RCB Full Squads:

Kolkata Knight Riders: Philip Salt (wk), Sunil Narine, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Shreyas Iyer (c), Venkatesh Iyer, Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Mitchell Starc, Varun Chakaravarthy, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Suyash Sharma, Anukul Roy, Manish Pandey, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Allah Ghazanfar, Sakib Hussain, Sherfane Rutherford, Chetan Sakariya, Nitish Rana, Srikar Bharat, Dushmantha Chameera

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Saurav Chauhan, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Mahipal Lomror, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Reece Topley, Lockie Ferguson, Yash Dayal, Suyash Prabhudessai, Anuj Rawat, Swapnil Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Karn Sharma, Glenn Maxwell, Akash Deep, Rajan Kumar, Tom Curran, Mayank Dagar, Alzarri Joseph, Cameron Green, Manoj Bhandage, Himanshu Sharma

As the preparations for the exciting contest between KKR and RCB in the IPL 2024 are going on, three key player battles are worth looking out for in the match

1. Sunil Narine vs Will Jacks

Sunil Narine has been in sublime form this season. He smashed his first IPL century in the last game. His role in the team is to give a dashing start and make full use of the powerplay. Will Jacks, who comes to bowl in the powerplay may pose some threat for him. However, he likes to play spin and smash boundaries but the slow bowler may come on top in this battle. The beauty of this key battle is that the roles can be changed as the innings change. Will Jacks comes to bat at number three for RCB and he would like to charge against Narine.

2. Virat Kohli vs Harshit Rana

Virat Kohli likes to take time and find gaps in the initial overs. Once set, he can play his shots all over the ground. Harshit Rana, on the other hand, is a bowler with good hard-length deliveries and slower balls. He needs to be well-prepared for the test against Kohli. In the last match between the two teams, Kohli remained unbeaten and scored an impressive 83 not out. However, Rana can learn from his past mistakes and use that knowledge to succeed against Kohli in their upcoming match on Sunday.

3. Angkrish Raghuvanshi vs Lockie Ferguson

The young batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi has a variety of shots in his arsenal. He is proficient in playing grounded shots as well as aerial shots. Lockie Ferguson, who will be playing his second match of the season, will be targeting the inexperienced Indian batter. Ferguson's raw pace may take Raghuvanshi by surprise, but how he will respond to Ferguson's attack will be interesting to watch. This player battle is worth keeping an eye on.