IPL 2016, RCB vs KKR Playing 11(Confirmed 11): Probable XI for Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders Match

Confirmed KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS: Robin Uthappa(WK), Gautam Gambhir(C), Manish Pandey, Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Yusuf Pathan, Andre Russell, Piyush Chawla, Umesh Yadav, Sunil Narine, Morne Morkel

Confirmed ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE: Virat Kohli(C), Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Shane Watson, Lokesh Rahul(WK), Sachin Baby, Stuart Binny, Varun Aaron, Sreenath Aravind, Yuzvendra Chahal, Tabraiz Shamsi

We can expect another cracker of a game as the Royal Challengers Bangalore take on the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Monday. RCB have been struggling to get things right this season particularly due to their struggling bowlers. KKR, on the other hand, were performing pretty well but have suddenly hit a bad patch with 2 back-to-back losses in their last 2 games. However, the Knight Riders are still well placed on the points table at the 3rd spot whereas the Challengers are languishing at the bottom on 7th. It is a good opportunity for both teams to sort out their issues before they enter the business end of the tournament.

Here's a look at the likely team for the Royal Challengers Bangalore against KKR:

Batting

Despite not having the services of Chris Gayle in their batting line-up for the past few matches, RCB have hardly struggled with the bat. Skipper Virat Kohli has been sensational for them with 381 runs in only 6 innings at an average in excess of 76. AB de Villiers has also played a stellar role with 316 runs so far, scoring at a rampaging strike rate of 166.31.

Having been drafted into the team as a wicket-keeper, KL Rahul has also settled down quite quickly in the batting line-up with a couple of quickfire fifties. The batting other than these three has not fired too much but this can be justified by the fact that the top-order batsmen have faced most of the overs during the innings.

Gayle had missed out on a place in the final XI in Bangalore's previous match; however, he should be back for the match against Kolkata in all probability.

All-rounders

The RCB all-rounders have certainly not worked wonders for the team in this season of the IPL till now. Shane Watson has been bowled well but has been found wanting with the bat in most innings. Other all-rounders like Stuart Binny and Parvez Rasool have not been able to capitalize on any of the chances that they have got so far. The Challengers will desperately need their all-rounders to come good if they want to get back to winning ways.

Bowling

The root cause behind all of Royal Challengers Bangalore's troubles this year has been their pedestrian bowling. Barring Watson, who has picked up 8 wickets in 6 games, none of the bowlers has made an impression. Pacer Kane Richardson has claimed 7 wickets, too, but has been far too expensive, conceding his runs at 9.71 per over.

RCB's trusted bowlers from previous editions like Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal have also failed their team this year with a string of poor performances. Their latest recruit Tabraiz Shamsi, though, has been quite decent with 3 wickets in 3 matches and a respectable economy rate of 8.

The Bangalore side will require a superlative effort from the bowlers to help them stay in the race for the playoffs.

Probable Playing XI

Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, KL Rahul (wk), Shane Watson, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Chris Jordan, Abu Nechim, Iqbal Abdulla.

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KKR have lost a bit of momentum in their last two matches

The 30th match of the VIVO IPL 2016 will witness the Kolkata Knight Riders go head-to-head with the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Monday. The home side has found the going tough in the 9th edition of the IPL with 4 losses in 6 matches. Quite contrastingly, the visitors were on a roll after having won 4 out of their first 5 games but have been pulled back by 2 consecutive defeats. Both teams have their own set of problems going into the match. While RCB are struggling badly with their bowling, KKR's middle-order batting has not been up to the mark. The Bangalore team will be intent on changing their fortunes with a win on Monday whereas Kolkata will be looking to rediscover their winning touch.

Here's our prediction on the team that may represent the Kolkata Knight Riders against RCB:

Batting

As far as their batting is concerned, KKR's performance has hinged on how well the opening duo of Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa play. Skipper Gambhir is the leading run-scorer for his team with 302 runs in 7 innings at an average above 60. His partner Uthappa, on the other hand, has scored 242 runs at an average of slightly below 35.

Apart from the openers, only Suryakumar Yadav has made a decent contribution with 117 runs in 5 innings including a match-winning 60 against Rising Pune Supergiants. The middle order has been struggling quite a bit with the likes of Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan and Andre Russell failing to produce the goods consistently for Kolkata.

The Knight Riders will need to fix up a few things in their batting order to consolidate their position in the tournament.

All-rounders

The Kolkata Knight Riders have depended a lot on their all-rounders in the recent years but they don't seem to be clicking in this season. Even though he has been decent with the ball, ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan has been completely out of form in terms of his batting. Russell, too, has mainly performed in the bowling department and averages under 19 with the bat. KKR will be hoping their all-rounders can come good when needed most.

Bowling

KKR have outperformed most other teams in this year's IPL when it comes to bowling. Umesh Yadav has led the way with 9 wickets in 6 matches while Russell has claimed 8 wickets to be the 2nd most successful bowler for his team. Leading spinner Sunil Narine has also been among the wickets with 6 from 5 games.

Most of the other bowlers have also been quite good and have managed to add a few wickets to their kitty. However, in the matches that Kolkata have lost so far, a few issues have cropped up in the bowling department. The Knight Riders will want to plug these gaps quickly so that they do not have too much impact on their campaign.

Probable Playing XI

Gautam Gambhir (c), Robin Uthappa (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Colin Munro, Yusuf Pathan, Sheldon Jackson, Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav, Morne Morkel.