IPL 2021: RCB vs KKR, Eliminator: Toss, Playing XI: Royal Challengers Bangalore elect to bat against KKR

In second playoff match of the season, the Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and elected to bat first against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Both sides named unchanged sides for the knockout game.

While the Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore are gunning for their maiden IPL trophy, the former champions Kolkata Knight Riders are looking to pick up their third IPL title.

The Challengers finished third on the points table, enjoyed a good run in the ongoing edition, having pocketed nine wins from 14 league games. Moreover, the Challengers will be a confident lot, having defeated table-toppers Delhi Capitals in their last match before the playoffs.

On the other hand, the Eoin Morgan-led Knight Riders, who enjoyed a mixed season, sneaked into the playoffs on the back of a better net runrate. The Knights, who have won the title, will enter the knockout stages on the back of two back-to-back victories. The Knight Riders, who have won seven out of 14 games this season, have previously won the title in 2012 and 2014.

RCB vs KKR Playing XIs:

KKR Playing 11: Venkatesh Iyer, Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (capt), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy

RCB Playing 11: Virat Kohli (capt), Devdutt Padikkal, KS Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dan Christian, George Garton, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj

Captain’s Speak:

Virat Kohli (RCB): Nice hard surface so we are going to bat first. Unchanged playing XI. Chasing has been challenging in Sharjah. A youngster stepped up in the last game to help beat a top side. The way KS batted was particularly good. This is what the tournament has been about – the youngsters coming up. Nothing different (knockouts), nothing changes for us. We’ve still got areas to improve and that will be our focus.

Eoin Morgan (KKR): Don’t mind it! We would have liked to bowl first anyway, so it doesn’t really bother us. We’ve played some good cricket in this phase of the tournament, and guys are starting to establish themselves in their roles. Same team.