RCB vs KKR Dream11 Prediction: The IPL 2021 Qualifier 2 will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday (October 11) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
It will be the first step for KKR and RCB en route their march towards the IPL 2021 final as the winner of this match will enter the Eliminator to be played on October 13. They will face the losing team of Qualifier 1 between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings.
Back to the RCB vs KKR clash as this is more of a match on equal footing. They have similar strengths and weaknesses. A well-oiled bowling unit is both Bangalore and Kolkata’s forte. Bangalore with Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal finding their rhythm are in good hands.
Similarly, the Kolkatans have a very capable attack under Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy and Shivam Mavi, which showed its fangs against Rajasthan Royals while bundling them out for a sub-100 total that opened the door for them to the playoffs.
Even the worries of these teams are quite similar. The Royal Challengers under Virat Kohli have a thin middle-order with AB de Villiers not getting his range, and it now rides on Glenn Maxwell’s fine form. If Maxwell has an off day then the RCB could stutter.
The KKR too has a very similar issue with captain Eoin Morgan contributing zilch with the bat. They too ran on some good efforts by Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi and a good start by openers Shubman Gill and Venkatesh Iyer. A meltdown cannot be ruled out against an on the spot attack like RCB.
RCB vs KKR Match Details
Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Eliminator
Date: 11th October 2021
Time: 07:30 PM IST
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
RCB vs KKR, Pitch Report and Conditions
The pitch at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah is a balanced pitch. The average 1st innings score at this venue in the last 56 matches is 159 runs. The team batting first at this venue has won 38% of its matches. The team winning the toss will look to bowl first here.
Pacers have been very successful at this venue. They have earned 68% of the total bowling fantasy points at this venue. We would suggest that you pick as many pace bowlers as possible in your team.
RCB vs KKR, Head to Head
In the 29 matches played between these 2 teams, Royal Challengers Bangalore have won 13 matches and Kolkata Knight Riders have won 16 matches. Bowlers of both teams have earned the most fantasy points for their respective teams so far.
RCB and KKR Squads
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shahbaz Ahmed, Pavan Deshpande, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Dan Christian, Suyesh Prabhudessai, KS Bharat, Tim David, Dushmantha Chameera, Wanindu Hasaranga.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Sunil Narine, Eoin Morgan, Rahul Tripathi, Varun Chakravarthy, Pawan Negi, Tim Seifert, Shakib al Hasan, Sheldon Jackson, Vaibhav Arora, Karun Nair, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Cutting, Venkatesh Iyer.
RCB vs KKR Possible Playing 11
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Captain), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dan Christian, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (Captain), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy.
RCB vs KKR Dream11 Prediction: Batters and Wicket-Keepers
Nitish Rana
He started the season with a bang with scores of 80 & 57 but then his performance with the bat faded a little bit. However, in the recent 5 matches he has come good as fantasy points scored by him read 19, 32, 51, 60 & 52 in these matches.
Devdutt Padikkal
He might have scored a duck in the last match, but in his previous 3 matches he had given 53, 64 & 58 fantasy points respectively. In his 2 matches this season at this venue (Sharjah), he has scored 40 & 70 runs respectively and thus has given good performances here.
Shubman Gill
With 352 runs, he is the 2nd highest run scorer for Kolkata this season. He has performed way better in the 2nd leg than the 1st leg as his scores read 56, 57, 7, 30, 9, 13 & 48 here in the U.A.E. He has a great batting record at Sharjah as in his 5 matches here he has scored 205 runs which includes 2 fifties and 2 thirties.
RCB vs KKR Dream11 Prediction: Bowlers
Lockie Ferguson
Since the restart, Ferguson has not been wicketless in a match as he has taken 3, 2, 1, 2 & 2 wickets respectively in his 5 matches in the U.A.E. He also has a more than decent record against Bengaluru in the Indian T20 league having picked up 5 wickets in his 4 matches against them.
Harshal Patel
He is the purple cap holder with 30 wickets and has given guaranteed fantasy points in almost every match. He has scored at least 40 fantasy points in 11 of his 14 matches which makes him a must have bowler. He should be a no brainer pick.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Since the restart Chahal has been in a purple patch as in his 7 matches here in the U.A.E. he has taken 12 wickets with never being wicketless in a match. In his last 4 matches against Kolkata, he has taken 1/23, 2/34, 2/15 & 1/12 and thus has performed brilliantly against them. With the Sharjah pitch slowing down, Chahal can be a great choice among bowlers for this fixture.
RCB vs KKR Dream11 Prediction: All-Rounders
Glenn Maxwell
With 498 runs, he is the leading run getter for Bengaluru this season, to go with that he also has taken wickets in odd matches. 4 out of his 6 fifties this season have come in the last 5 matches and thus he is in great form. He is averaging 60+ fantasy points per match this season which makes him the 1st choice all-rounder to be picked for this fixture.
Venkatesh Iyer
With a total of 239 runs and 3 wickets, Venkatesh Iyer has given points with both bat and ball this season. In his 7 matches this season, he has scored 53, 24, 113, 78, 33, 89 & 62 fantasy points respectively and thus has given guaranteed returns in every match. He can be a great C/vc candidate for this match.
Shakib Al Hasan
He has played only 5 matches this season, but had an impactful performance in every match as fantasy points scored by him in these matches read 51, 45, 29, 51 & 40. He also has a great record with both bat and ball against Bengaluru as in his 8 matches against them he has scored 143 runs and taken 5 wickets. With the Sharjah pitch slowing down, he can be a great pick for this fixture.
RCB vs KKR Dream11 Prediction: Captain and Vice-Captain
Glenn Maxwell has an average of 57 match fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 9.9 and a medium XFactor.
Venkatesh Iyer has an average of 63 match fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 9.8 and a low XFactor.
Lockie Ferguson has an average of 51 match fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 9.2 and a medium XFactor.
Harshal Patel has an average of 62 match fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 8.6 and a medium XFactor.
Nitish Rana has an average of 29 match fantasy points in the last 10 games, a fantasy rating of 8.1 and a medium XFactor.
RCB vs KKR Dream11 Team
Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli (Captain), Glenn Maxwell, Rahul Tripathi, KS Bharat (wk), Shakib al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Lockie Ferguson, Harshal Patel, Shivam Mavi.
RCB vs KKR Match prediction The RCB and KKR are evenly matched and both are coming off wins in their previous games. But overall, the Kolkatans have a sharper bowling unit and that comes as a blessing in the slow, low Sharjah wicket as shown against Rajasthan Royals. KKR might just have that little edge.
