KKR vs RCB: Royal Challengers Bangalore lose Pujara, Kohli after slow start

NEW DELHI: After opting to bowl first, Kolkata seemed to dominate the proceeding as Suchitra Senanayake and Jacques Kallis dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli early in their IPL 6 match at JSCA Stadium Complex in Ranchi. 

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Kolkata got their first breakthrough when Senanayake dismissed Pujara (5) who was caught at cover point by Laxmipathy Balaji after Kolkata skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and decided to bowl. 

Soon after, Bangalore skipper Kohli (17) too failed to make an impression when he had his stumps knocked over after getting an inside edge off the bowling of Kallis. 

The Knight Riders have made two changes for this match with Senanayake and Debabrata Das replacing Eoin Morgan and Iqbal Abdulla. 

On the other hand, the Royal Challengers bring in Abhimanyu Mithun for Syed Mohammad. 

The Knight Riders will be eyeing revenge in their match against the Royal Challengers in Ranchi's first IPL game at the Jharkhand Cricket Association's International stadium. 

It is exactly a month since the two teams clashed in Bangalore where Chris Gayle blew away KKR with a 50-ball 85 that was laced with nine sixes. 

Riding on Gayle's brilliance and some other notable performers, RCB are among the top-four in the points table while KKR are languishing in the bottom half. 

Both teams will go into the match high on confidence winning their last games. While KKR comprehensively beat a hapless Pune Warriors, RCB pulled off a thriller against the Delhi Daredevils on Friday.

We Still Have a Fair Chance: Gambhir

Gambhir

RANCHI: His team is virtually out of the playoffs race having lost eight of their 13 matches, but an optimistic Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Gautam Gambhir on Saturday said they still have a "fair chance" of making the cut in the ongoing Indian Premier League.

"At the moment, the competition is pretty open. We still have a fair chance of reaching the playoffs. For me what matters is the remaining three games and we face RCB on Sunday, which is a must-win game for us. Hopefully, we can try and deliver," Gambhir told reporters on the eve of the match.

The Virat Kohli-led RCB are coming off a win against Delhi Daredevils and asked how KKR plan to counter the likes of Chris Gayle, Kohli and AB de Villiers, Gambhir said, "We do not strategise against individuals.

"We do not discuss individuals; we will only look to do what we do best and stick to our strength."

The KKR captain is also pinning his hopes on Sunil Narine to counter the strong RCB.

"We have played on this track, a spinning one and can benefit Sunil Narine," he said.

Talking about his side's bowling attack, he said, "KKR is not dependent only on its spin bowlers. If you see in the tournament, Jacques Kallis and L Balaji too have done well for us, which are great signs for us.

"Spinners have been successful for us, they have been different, and they have not been conventional spinners. Our bowling unit on the whole has been good."

Gambhir said his team would look to win its remaining three matches. Kolkata have to their credit 10 points from thirteen games.

"We are looking forward to win all the three matches. Be it any situation, we as a team enter the ground thinking about a victory. We do not play to participate. We will look to play some good cricket and get a win."

The city will also host the KKR versus Pune Warriors match on May 15.