IPL 2021 Eliminator: Kolkata Knight Riders Best Playing 11 against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Sharjah, October 9: The Kolkata Knight Riders had touched the sky under Gautam Gambhir when they won two IPL titles in the space of 3 years. They were the direct challengers to the power centres of Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. But it all has changed when the IPL 2021 is upon us.

They have not won anything in the last 6 editions since that second title in 2014, and even the play-off appearances have been sparce.

But the IPL 2021 offers them a fine chance to return to the glory ways, and as a first step they need to win the IPL 2021 Eliminator against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday (October 11).

The win will put the Eoin Morgan-led side in the Qualifier 2, a step closer to the final. But can they go past the RCB?

Here's the Best Possible 11 of Kolkata Knight Riders for the IPL 2021 Eliminator against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

1. Openers

Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer: Iyer has been a revelation in the IPL 2021 second phase. He played fearless cricket against some more experienced and known names and now, Gill also seemed to have a regained his touch after a slow start to the tournament. Their opening stand against Rajasthan Royals played a big part in KKR putting on board a total as big as 171. They need to produce a similar effort against the Bangloreans.

2. Middle-order batsmen

Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan. The middle-order of the Knight Riders has not really evoked confidence save for a few power knocks by Tripathi and Rana. Morgan has been woefully out of touch and his captaincy has been spot on saving him the axe. But against a side like RCB, the KKR middle-order needs to capitalise if Gill and Iyer give them a good start or on the flip side they need to consolidate and guide the team to a safe total if the openers fail to make a mark. A big task for sure.

3. Wicketkeeper-batsman

Dinesh Karthik: Karthik has been a lively presence as ever behind and in front of the stumps. He has chipped in with a couple of cameos and kept things tight as wicketkeeper too. His presence at No 6 is a big boost for KKR.

4. All-rounders

Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine: Both Shakib and Narine have been part of KKR set up for some time now. Shakib showed his value to the side when he dismissed the in-form Yashasvi Jaiswal in the very first over in a crucial match against the Rajasthan outfit. Narine has reinvented himself as a bowler remodelling his bowling action. Though he does not take wickets at a cluster as he once used to, Narine still blocks the run flow and play a handy knock the down the order.

5. Bowlers

Lockie Ferguson. Shivam Mavi. Varun Chakravarthy. Ferguson and Chakravarthy has been shouldering the KKR bowling unit from early stages of IPL 2021. Now, Mavi has joined them and has made it even more effective, and his four-wicket burst against RR is a good example of that. It helped KKR to enter the Play-offs as the fourth placed team. The trio will need be on the money against RCB.