KKR vs RCB Live Score, IPL 2023: Action Begins. Venkatesh Iyer, Rahmanullah Gurbaz Look To Give KKR Good Start

KKR vs RCB Live: We are underway

The IPL 2023 match between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore begins with Venkatesh Iyer and Rahmanullah Gurbaz opening for KKR. On the other hand, Mohammed Siraj bowls the first over for RCB. 

KKR vs RCB Live: Here’s what Dinesh Karthik said before the match

“There is a good nervous energy around the group which shows that we care, we had a good start, but we also want to keep continuing the same sort of process and momentum we can achieve over a period of games is what’s gonna help us through this IPL. This first month is all about making sure you get the process right and not get too ahead of yourself the second month is where it really counts and you need make sure all your guns blazing and have that constant energy through that second month which is always gonna help you cross the line. There’s gonna be a lot of support for us, that’s one great thing. The pitch, it looks very different to what it could be, so to see how it will behave – is it gonna turn, is it gonna have less bounce or is it gonna be the usual Eden Gardens wicket which obviously has a lot of runs in it. So, we gotta assess that and make sure we got on top of that real quick.”

KKR vs RCB Live: Here’s what Tim Southee said before the match

“Guys are excited to be back here. Like most teams, it’s just not the captain, there’s a number of different leaders throughout teams that help as well. There’s number of guys that played a lot of T20 and IPL cricket, Nitish had an experience of captaining Delhi in domestic cricket here, so he is not an inexperienced captain. IN IPL, it is his first time, but he has done a great job so far. There’s a couple of class players top of the order (for RCB) that played for a long time and when you play against guys for a long period of time they obviously know a bit about you and hopefully you know a little bit about them as well. They had a great start to the IPL and hopefully we can get off to a winning start here at the Eden Gardens.”

KKR vs RCB Live: KKR’s Playing XI

Kolkata Knight Riders (Playing XI): Mandeep Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Nitish Rana(c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Shardul Thakur, Sunil Narine, Suyash Sharma, Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

KKR vs RCB Live: RCB’s Playing XI

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, David Willey, Karn Sharma, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj

KKR vs RCB Live: Here’s what Nitish Rana said at the toss

“Was looking to bowl as well because of the dew factor. Anukul is replaced by Suyash.”

KKR vs RCB Live: Here’s what Faf du Plessis said at the toss

“Going to have a bowl. Bit of a misunderstanding with the accent there (confusion at the toss). Was dew last night. Hoping it will get skiddy in the second innings. That’s a long way away. Today is a completely new game. Really motivated to put in a good performance. Forced change with Topley being injured. Willey comes in.”

KKR vs RCB Live: RCB win toss, Opt to bowl

Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Faf du Plessis wins toss and opts to bowl against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2023 match. 

KKR vs RCB Live: High-scoring affair today?

Another high-scoring match on the cards? The strip at the Eden Gardens has an average of over 190 runs in the last nine games

KKR vs RCB Live: KKR no pushover!

While RCB will miss Topley, the Faf du Plessis-led side would be wary of facing Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy. Both the slow bowlers can make run-scoring a tough job.

KKR vs RCB Live: RCB pace trio

RCB’s pace trio of Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and Akash Deep will also look to make it count on a seaming-friendly Eden.

But they are likely to miss English pacer Reece Topley, who suffered a shoulder dislocation. David Willey is expected to replace him.

KKR vs RCB Live: Will KKR survive RCB onslaught?

On the bowling front, the likes of Tim Southee and Sunil Narine leaked runs, something they will have to address. Narine looked to have lost his mystery ball as the Punjab batters took him to the cleaners.

KKR’s attack will be put to test against the likes of Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli, who looked in imperious touch in an unbeaten 82 in their eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians.

KKR vs RCB Live: The positives for KKR

KKR also can take positives from a cracking start by Afghan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who smashed a flurry of boundaries and a 101-metre six before perishing for 22.

KKR had blamed the power failure in the innings break for their drop in momentum, but the truth is they will have to raise the bar.

KKR vs RCB: KKR’s struggles!

KKR looked a shadow of their past in their season-opener, which was interrupted by a floodlight glitch before the skies opened up.

Iyer’s absence has made the batting feeble. A quick-fire fifty-run partnership between Andre Russell and Venkatesh Iyer, who was promoted to No. 4, was the highlight of their batting against Punjab.

KKR vs RCB Live: RCB Predicted XI –

KKR vs RCB Live: KKR Predicted XI –

Tim Southee was expensive in the previous game as he leaked 54 runs across his four overs while taking two wickets. KKR might be tempted to take him out and include Lockie Ferguson in his place. Check out what we think could be KKR’s playing XI for the game, CLICK HERE

KKR vs RCB Live: Will Shah Rukh Khan attend the KKR game?

The buzz is that KKR’s owner Shah Rukh Khan will be in the house when they return there after 1,438 days. They last played at Eden Gardens on April 28, 2019 — a 34-run win over Mumbai Indians before COVID-19 hit the world.

KKR vs RCB Live: Big task ahead for ‘accidental’ skipper Rana!

KKR had made Nitish Rana their stand-in skipper, assuming that their regular skipper would be back in the second half of the season but with Iyer ruled out completely, the Chandrakant Pandit-coached side may face a leadership crisis. Rana, who has experience of leading Delhi in white-ball cricket, has a big task ahead of him as the team desperately seeks some solace in its den.

KKR vs RCB Live: Double blow for KKR!

Kolkata Knight Riders will be playing without their star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and skipper Shreyas Iyer for the entire season. While Iyer is out due to injury, Shakib opted to miss the tournament due to international commitments and personal reasons.

KKR vs RCB Live: Welcome guys!

Hello everyone, welcome to the live blog of the 9th match of IPL 2023. Kokata Knight Riders face Royal Challengers Bangalore tonight at the Eden Gardens. Stay connected for all the live updates!