Kolkata: After a loss against Punjab Kings in their IPL-2023 opener, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will look to get their combination right to earn their first win when they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
With Shreyas Iyer out with injury, the Kolkata-based team’s combination suffered a body blow and the team management will have a lot of homework to do to get past an in-form RCB side, who got off to a flying start after beating Mumbai Indians on Sunday.
Shakib Al Hasan pulling out of IPL season will also come as a big headache for Chandrakanth Pandit-coached side.
But keeping all these aside, the team will aim to bring forward their best game to bag their first win of the season and that too at their own. The team had a good outing against Punjab but the match was eventually decided on DLS method after rain stopped play.
In the batting department, opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ventatesh Iyer looked in fine tough along with skipper Nitish Rana.
All-rounder Andre Russell also joined the party with some big hits but failed to take his team over the line.
The batters getting runs under their belt will surely boost their confidence but they need to step up as a team to hand KKR their first win.
In the bowling department, the experienced Tim Southee, Umesh Yadav and Sunil Narine will have to bowl in the right areas as they face a tough challenge against the likes of Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell.
