Pumped up after a thrilling win over the smooth-sailing Chennai Super Kings, defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders will take on the resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Saturday.
With Thursday’s win, KKR moved up a rung to the third position on the points table with four wins, two losses and one abandoned match. RCB, on the other hand, have won three and lost as many in seven games and are fourth.
For KKR, the last-over win against CSK came as a massive shot in the arm as they prepare to take on a rejuvenated RCB, who posted 200 runs despite the failures of Kohli and West Indian swashbuckler Chris Gayle, against Rajasthan.
Captain Gautam Gambhir lauded the power-packed innings of Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell, which helped KKR come back on track. Uthappa cracked an unbeaten 80 and stitched a superb partnership for the fourth wicket along with Russell, who scored a brilliant unbeaten 55 in no time.
Other batsmen have been inconsistent and bowling has been a bit patchy. However, Australian chinaman bowler Brad Hogg has bolstered the bowling after he picked up crucial wickets against CSK in the last match.
After a sedate start, RCB returned to form with two consecutive away wins against Rajasthan in Ahmedabad and Delhi Daredevils at the Feroz Shah Kotla.
But a dismal record at home would be a major concern for RCB going into Saturdays’s game. RCB have so far failed to take the home advantage. They lost all three matches before their home crowd.