The 11th edition of the Indian Premier League got off to a flying start as the Chennai Super Kings beat the Mumbai Indians on the penultimate delivery of the match. Kolkata Knight Riders, the two-time champions take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore in their season opener. Dinesh Karthik will be leading the revamped KKR unit and Virat Kohli will be heading the men in red. The Challengers have never won the IPL and now that they have a completely refurbished squad, they’ll be fancying their chances. Will it be a third title for the Knight Riders or the first for the Royal Challengers? Who’ll finish on top in the KKR vs RCB fixture? Let’s examine.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Trivia: Royal Challengers were bundled out for 49, the last time the two teams faced each other at the Eden Gardens. The lowest ever team total in the IPL.

PITCH CONDITIONS

The pitch at the Eden Gardens has changed nature after it was relayed. The 49 run debacle at the Eden was a clear indication that the seamers can extract some purchase out of it. However, the pitch doesn’t carry any demons and is likely to hold true to its nature. Anything over 170 will be a good total to defend.

SQUADS

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Tom Curran, Dinesh Karthik(c), Andre Russell, Robin Uthappa, Kuldeep Yadav, Piyush Chawla, Nitish Rana, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ankit Rajpoot, Shivam Mavi, Mitchell Johnson, Shubman Gill, Vinay Kumar, Rinku Singh, Javon Searles, Cameron Delport, Ishank Jaggi, Apoorv Wankhade.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Chris Woakes Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Brendon McCullum, Washington Sundar, Sarfaraz Khan, Navdeep Saini, Quinton de Kock, Mohammad Siraj, M Ashwin, N Coulter-Nile, Colin de Grandhomme, Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, Mandeep Singh, Manan Vohra, Tim Southee, Pawan Negi, Kulwant Khejroliya, Aniket Choudhary, Anirudha Joshi, Pavan Deshpande.

PROBABLE PLAYING XI

KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS

Sunil Narine, Chris Lynn, Dinesh Karthik(c), Andre Russell, Robin Uthappa(wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Rana, Shubman Gill, Ishank Jaggi, Tom Curran, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

Manan Vohra/ Parthiv Patel, Quinton de Kock(wk), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Chris Woakes, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mohammad Siraj/Navdeep Saini/Aniket Choudhary.

PLAYER BATTLE

AB de Villiers is undeniably the most audacious batsman the game has ever seen. RCB also have -Virat Kohli, Brendon McCullum and Quinton de Kock. Three batsmen who can win games single-handedly. Virat Kohli has been in tremendous form, forever. How do teams deal with him? Einstein might also not be able to find answers. Good luck bowling to him

CHRIS LYNN vs AB de VILLIERS: THE BIG HITTERS

Trivia: Lynn hits a boundary every 5 deliveries. In the IPL, Lynn’s scoring rate is a smashing 158.02 per hundred balls. Lynn has remained unbeaten in 16 T20 innings out of the 96 innings he’s batted in. He’s more likely to open for KKR and if he manages to stick around for a good dozen overs, he might easily score a ton.

AB de Villiers needs no introduction and Virat Kohli once quoted that De Villiers is the most creative batsman ever to take the cricket field. He smashes a boundary every 5.4 deliveries. De Villiers is one also one of the best fielders in the world.

Try sneaking a run when the ball is hit to him and you’ll know how good he is. He’s hit 510 fours, 269 sixes, has taken 171 catches and affected 16 stumpings. There’s nothing he can’t do.

Trivia: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers once put on 229 runs for the 2nd wicket. The highest ever in IPL cricket.

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