New Delhi
The Indian Premier League (IPL), postponed due to tension and military confrontation between India and Pakistan, will resume on Saturday with a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), in which all will be eyeing Virat Kohli, who recently retired from Test cricket. Both RCB and KKR will put full emphasis to achieve their goals after 10 days of unexpected interruptions. RCB is second in the points table with 16 points in 11 matches and will almost confirm the place in the playoffs for the winning team. KKR is ranked sixth in 12 matches with 11 points and a single defeat will end the expectations of the current champion to make it to the knockout.
Both teams were in great rhythm before the league interruptions. While RCB has won their last four matches, KKR’s team will enter the match with two consecutive wins. In such a situation, it will be interesting to see how these teams maintain their rhythm. If you compare both teams on paper, then there is no doubt that RCB’s upper hand will be heavy on KKR. Captain Rajat Patidar, who was injured against Chennai Super Kings, batted without any trouble in the practice session. Patidar suffered a finger injury but batted fluently in the net session.
Most of the foreign players of the hosts have also returned home after the Indo-Pak military confrontation. Players like Phil Salat, Lungi Enggidi, Tim David, Liam Livingstone and Romario Shepherd are available for the team. The absence of Devdutt Padikkal and fast bowler Josh Hazlewood can be a major problem, however. Mayank Agarwal, who replaces RCB Padikkal, will expect to capitalize on the opportunity. Hazlewood has a shoulder injury and the franchise has not yet informed about their availability.
However, everyone’s eyes will be on Kohli in the match. In the stadium too, the audience will raise the most slogans of his name. The legendary batsman announced his retirement from Test cricket earlier this week. If we look at the discussions going on on social media, then fans are planning to wear white jersey to honor this batsman who gives the most importance to the traditional format of the game. Kohli, who is running in a spectacular rhythm, would like to play some impressive innings with the bat after the sudden end of the Test career.
KKR has the most disappointment with his batsmen in the current season. Apart from captain Ajinkya Rahane and young Angkrish Raghuvanshi, no batsman has shown continuity. All the matches of the league stage for the team are like or die, so they will expect effective innings from Venkatesh Iyer, Andre Russell and Rinku Singh. The team will be missed by England’s experienced all -round all -round Moeen Ali. Moin is out of the league due to viral fever. KKR’s bowling line-up of Varun Chakraborty, Sunil Narayan, Vaibhav Arora and Harshit Rana has maintained their grip despite being expensive on many occasions.
Teams:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Phil Salat, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Romario Shepherd, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Suyesh Sharma, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal, Rasikh Dar Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethle, dreams, Livgingstone, Livgingstone, Lungi Engidi, Mohit Rathi, Swastik Chikara, Abhinandan Singh.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane (captain), Manish Pandey, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Rinku Singh, Lavanith Sisodia, Quinton Dickock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sunil Narayan, Andre Russell, Ramandeep Singh, Adhikar Roy, Venkatesh Iyer, Varun Chakraborty, Harsh, Harshit Rana, Vaibhav Arora, Mayank Marakande, Mayank Markande, Umran Nokia, Spacer Johnson.
