RCB's pace trio of Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, and Akash Deep will also look to make an impact on a seaming-friendly Eden.
Digital Desk: The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) camp is happy after the Faf du Plessis-led side thrashed the Mumbai Indians by eight wickets in their first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season. As RCB mocked MI's 171-run total, Virat Kohli and Faf dazzled with the bat. While Kohli hit an unbeaten 83 to lead his team to victory, du Plessis's quickfire 73 set the stage for a convincing chase. Whatever happens at the Chinnaswamy stays at the Chinnaswamy, as RCB's attention now shifts to the Eden Gardens, where they will face a depleted Kolkata Knight Riders side on Thursday.
Here is the prediction for RCB's starting XI against KKR:
Kohli and du Plessis will open the batting once again. The form of the dynamic duo will be crucial for RCB throughout the tournament.
Glenn Maxwell's participation in the previous match was doubted. He scored 12 runs off three balls and bowled one over. In the absence of Rajat Patidar, he is expected to fill the third spot.
All-rounder Michael Bracewell, who took the wicket of Suryakumar Yadav in the previous match, is expected to keep his place in the middle order, alongside Dinesh Karthik and Shahbaz Ahmed.
RCB's pace trio of Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, and Akash Deep will also look to make an impact on a seaming-friendly Eden.
However, RCB will be without English pacer Reece Topley, who has a shoulder dislocation. David Willey is expected to take his place.
Karn Sharma was the standout bowler, taking two wickets against MI. He is likely to have management's support.
RCB Predicted XI: Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Michael Bracewell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep
