The second half of the Indian Premier League double header on Sunday comes from the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata as the side who have won this title twice Kolkata Knight Riders take on the team desperate to get their hands on the trophy but who have as yet failed to do so in the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
These two have made differing starts to the season with Kolkata getting off to a good start and Bangalore struggling to begin with but the last results of each were the other way around. Kolkata lost to the Gujarat Lions in their last match while Bangalore beat the same opposition.
Kolkata Knight Riders
The former champions will be out to prove that their defeat to the Gujarat Lions was just a blip. In fairness to them they were up against it right from the off once they had lost the toss and were put into bat. I’m sure they will be hoping to win the toss and chase this time as that is generally their successful method.
One of the reasons for that is a bowling attack which has gone the distance a few times this season which wasn’t expected. The other reason is the dew factor which is always in play in Kolkata so bowling first is very much an advantage for the home side. On the plus side they do have plenty of runs in them.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Last season’s beaten finalists had been struggling with the bat up until the last match when they went to Rajkot and tucked into the filthy offerings of the Gujarat Lions bowling attack. Chris Gayle was particularly brutal on that attack and his return to form should only be a good thing for Bangalore from here on in.
The Royal Challengers do have the same concerns that the Knight Riders have though and that is in an attack that has gone the distance too. They are largely centred around spinners restricting sides but Eden Gardens isn’t a track for that this season so they are going to have to think up a different strategy here.
Team News
Kolkata Knight Riders aren’t likely to change too much despite their defeat last time out. Chris Woakes probably did just enough to hold onto his place in the side.
Royal Challengers Bangalore are expecting to have AB de Villiers and Tymal Mills back for this match so they could come into the side. You would think Shane Watson and Travis Head would make way for them.
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Betting
I’m expecting a high scoring match here. I’m not going to bet on the match outcome because to me the side who will bat second has a distinct advantage on this ground so until we know who that is it is best to keep our money in our pocket.
The bet I can’t ignore though is on the over 335.5 total runs line. These two sides have powerful batting line ups and we saw in the last match on this ground just how many runs can be scored when Kolkata’s 187/5 never looked like being enough. With the power Bangalore bring with the bat and the vulnerability they carry with the ball everything is in place for another high scoring clash here.
Tips
Back Over 335.5 runs for a 5/10 stake at 1.73 with Bet365
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