KKR vs RCB IPL 2024: Who will Pick Maximum Wickets in Match 36?

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The two-time-champion Kolkata Knight Riders will be challenged by Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday (April 21) afternoon.

For the first time in their IPL history, KKR started the season with three consecutive victories. Despite this great start their winning streak stumbled as they lost two of their last three matches. The Knights are now sitting at third with 8 points in six matches. And as for the visitors, the situation is far murkier than that of the Knights. Faf Du Plessis-led Bengaluru is currently sitting at the bottom of the table with only 2 points in seven matches.

Both the franchises had met 33 times in the past and KKR emerged victorious on 19 occasions while RCB did the same 14 times. Their last meeting was in this season of IPL, at the home of the Challengers, where KKR smashed them with a 7-wicket victory.

IPL 2024 KKR vs RCB: Bowling Squad Comparison

So far in this season KKR bowling was decent, but in their last match against RR, they failed to defend a humongous score of 223. Now as the next match is in Eden Gardens and it is expected to be a batting pitch, the KKR bowlers will be tested again against the in-form RCB batters. In the last match, KKR pacers like Mitchell Starc, Vaibhav Arora, and Harshit Rana failed to deliver up to their expectations. In the spin department, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy will be there to stagnate the run-scoring by RCB in the middle overs. Suyash Sharma, another skilled spinner in the Knight's squad, is yet to be used properly in this season.

Whereas RCB like the previous seasons, this year also made a batter-heavy team. This trend is costing RCB too much. Virat Kohli's brilliant displays match after match have been going to waste as their bowlers are failing to check their opponents to post a huge total. In their last match, SRH made a total of 287, which is the highest score in an innings in T20 cricket across the world. Reece Topley, Lockie Ferguson, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Vijayakumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj all the pace options are tried and none of them has clicked so far in this season.

IPL 2024 KKR vs RCB: Who will pick most Wickets?

Harshit Rana (KKR): The 23-year-old Indian fast bowler joined the KKR camp this season from DC. He has played only 13 IPL matches and taken 13 wickets. Rana has been in excellent form for KKR this season, taking 7 wickets in four matches despite missing a few owing to some minor injuries. Because there is a scarcity of excellent fast bowlers in the KKR camp, the youngster has an opportunity to step up and demonstrate his abilities during this grand cricket festival.

Vaibhav Arora (KKR): The 27-year-old Indian right-arm medium-fast bowler has 15 wickets from 14 games. This season, Arora took seven wickets in just four matches. He will be extremely effective in the opening and death overs of the innings. Though in the last match against RR, his bowling was below par and conceded too many runs, it is expected that he will try to make a comeback as soon as possible.

Reece Topley (RCB): This season, the English left-arm medium-fast bowler has 5 wickets from 5 matches. The 30-year-old has very little IPL experience, but his recent bowling performances were good enough for RCB to continue using him on the pace-friendly pitches. Throughout the career, injuries remain a concern for the player. If he can stay fit throughout the season, he might be an excellent addition to the RCB bowling assault.

Though the Knights are playing decent cricket in this IPL so far, the last-ball defeat against RR in the last match will rankle them. It will be in the hands of the RCB batters if they will be able to take a chance on the situation or not. As both teams are well rested a high-score drama is expected from this Sunday afternoon thriller.