The Bank Holiday weekend begins with one match from the Indian Premier League as the Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore at the iconic Eden Gardens in a big match for the home side.
Even were the Royal Challengers to win out from here they are not making it into the top four now so the onus is on the Knight Riders to put them to the sword and avoid slipping up to a team who are playing the role of spoilers from here on in.
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Kolkata Knight Riders
With four wins from their opening five matches and only a loss on a super over in between all that, the Kolkata Knight Riders were looking good to propel themselves towards the postseason as genuine dangers, but three defeats on the spin have sent them tumbling down the table and as a result they are going to have to compete strongly just to make the top four at the end of the regular season.
They have been exposed in those matches too. Try as they might, their bowling can’t stop going around the park, and we have now seen that if Andre Russell can be contained with the bat, there isn’t a huge amount in this team to threaten opposition. It is now time for the top four to stand up and make big runs. They have absolutely no excuse not to on this Eden Gardens track.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
To be fair to the Royal Challengers Bangalore they have been much more competitive in their last three matches. Admittedly they would have struggled to do worse, but I wonder if they are now able to bring out their better cricket with the pressure off them. They have still only won one of those three games but narrow defeats in the other two, on grounds where defending scores is near on impossible, represents progress at the very least.
The same problems remain for this Bangalore side. They are way too reliant on three batsmen and their death bowling is an absolute joke but that isn’t going to change anytime soon, unless Dale Steyn joins and brings his form of three or four years ago with him. It would appear the recipe for success for Bangalore is simple. Bat second.
Team News
There are all sorts of issues with the fitness of Andre Russell. He hasn’t looked right throughout the tournament and apparently took a bash on the shoulder in the lead up to this match. He is still expected to play but only because he’s the only man in form for Kolkata.
Dale Steyn has arrived and is part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore set up and you would think he is straight into this side. It might be a surprise if we see Akshdeep Nath again in this tournament after his selfish act cost Bangalore the win in Mumbai.
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Betting
There is a bit of a gamble going down on Royal Challengers Bangalore here. Whether that is because people hope Andre Russell is out or know it I’m not sure, but even then would you trust this Bangalore side to defend a score if pushed? Admittedly it was Russell who did it but Kolkata won from a different galaxy in the reverse meeting between these two. As I repeatedly state, I can’t get involved in the match betting on this ground without knowing the toss outcome.
With that in mind, I’m heading for the boundaries market here. I accept that the Kolkata batting line up aren’t going great guns but there are no demons in this Bangalore bowling attack should they manage Chahal sensibly enough. We’ve seen throughout the tournament that these boundaries are perfectly accessible and although the line looks high at 45.5 it isn’t too bad. With Bangalore not playing for anything this should be a high scoring match and as such I’ll play the over.
Tips
WON – Back Over 45.5 boundaries for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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