The form that Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis flaunted last Sunday will have left opponents suitably worried about their prospects against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in these early days of IPL-16. For Kolkata Knight Riders, who take on RCB at the Eden Gardens on Thursday, the threat from the two openers will have acquired more sinister proportions given the lack of bite in their bowling for the better part of the Punjab Kings innings on Saturday. With the batting too failing to inspire confidence, KKR may have to take another look at their top order.
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RCB’s star-studded team
In contrast, with Dinesh Karthik and Glenn Maxwell following Kohli and skipper Du Plessis, RCB ooze experience as well as ominous firepower at the top. Both Kohli and Du Plessis are known to play the long innings once they get past the initial overs, and an early breakthrough becomes all that more crucial for KKR. But, then, KKR have a lot to look forward to, and the vociferous home support is not the least of them. And there are others.
RCB’s Virat Kohli (left) and Faf du Plessis during their 148-run stand v MI on Sunday. Pic/AFP
While RCB boast of big hitters at the top, KKR have a most destructive force in Andre Russell. It’s just as well that in Mohali the burly Jamaican gave a glimpse of his awe-inspiring capability with the bat. With the likes of Sunil Narine and Shardul Thakur following, KKR bat deep and they will be hoping those that come earlier will join the party as well. Head coach Chandrakant Pandit refused to hang the ‘inexperienced’ tag on his top order, but many are wondering whether KKR will push Narine to that familiar pinch-hitter’s role at the top.
Jason Roy joins in
England’s Jason Roy, bought as an injury replacement, is not expected to be fielded before the Gujarat match in Ahmedabad on Sunday. KKR have been hit hard by the ruling out of Shreyas Iyer and Shakib al-Hassan and their teammates will have to show better match awareness and shot selection than they did at Mohali. RCB have a potent pace attack, and local lad Akash Deep suggested that the use of the new ball at the Eden may well make a big difference. Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav, Narine, Varun Chakravarthy make for a pretty balanced attack, and KKR will want to view Saturday’s lackadaisical show in Mohali as but an aberration. “It was only our first match. We shouldn’t be judged on the basis of just one match,” Pandit pointed out.
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