IPL 2024, RCB vs KKR - What Could be Deciding Factors in the Ultimate Face-off?

Shreyas Iyer in practice ahead of the game against RCB [X]Shreyas Iyer in practice ahead of the game against RCB [X]

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is one of the most fierce clashes in the IPL. With Gautam Gambhir back in the KKR dugout, the temperature will only rise when both sides lock horns at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on 29th March. As far as their recent five faceoffs are considered, the Playbold Army have only a solitary victory to their name.

While RCB won their previous game against the Punjab Kings, the Knight Riders also kicked off their IPL 2024 campaign in some fashion by earning a hard-fought victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Here, we take a look at three potential deciding factors for the upcoming RCB vs KKR fixture.


KKR’s spin trio will test RCB batters

The pitch in the first fixture of the season at Chinnaswamy was slightly on the slower side. If the story remains the same, the KKR spin trio of Sunil Narine, Varun Chakravarthy and Suyash Sharma will have a big say against RCB batters. The trio has got the better of RCB batters in recent times; they haven’t only controlled the flow of runs but also picked up wickets.

The KKR Spin-trio vs RCB [OneCricket]The KKR Spin-trio vs RCB [OneCricket]

While Suyash Sharma should be manageable, the duo of Narine & Chakravarty will be a bigger headache for the Challengers. There is also a possibility that one of the spinners might be introduced in the powerplay given Virat Kohli & Faf du Plessis will open the innings. RCB will need to come up with a solid plan to tackle the KKR spinners and also execute their shots well.


KKR batters to face the heat of RCB pacers?

Kolkata’s batting unit is quite vulnerable to high-end pace-bowling. The struggles of Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine against well-directed short-pitched bowling are well-documented. RCB have potent fast-bowling resources to exploit this weakness.

Stats of RCB Pacers in IPL 2024 [OneCricket]Stats of RCB Pacers in IPL 2024 [OneCricket]

Mohammed Siraj averages 20.2 with an economy of 6.50 RPO against the Knight Riders since 2020. He also has a good head-to-head record against all of the aforementioned batters. Alzarri Joseph is a tall pacer and can hurry the KKR batters. Cameron Green is also pretty tall and can follow this strategy.

However, they shouldn’t overdo the short stuff and lines – targeted at the body – will be crucial. With a leeway of 2 bouncers per over now, RCB bowlers seem to have got carried away. They have the highest percentage of back-of-length and short deliveries post-powerplay in the season so far.

Can RCB stick to their batting-heavy combination?

RCB played a unique combination in the last game. Despite the impact player rule, the RCB management went with just four full-time bowlers and two all-rounders – Glenn Maxwell & Cameron Green – to do the job. It allowed them to play as many as 8 batters: Kohli, Faf, Green, Patidar, Maxwell, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik and Mahipal Lomror.

RCB will rely heavily on their batters against KKR [iplt20.com]RCB will rely heavily on their batters against KKR [iplt20.com]

It’s a risky strategy as it makes their bowling attack quite unreliable. But, it’s also arguable that their alternatives aren’t enough trustworthy either. So, they stack up their batting unit, allowing the upper order to be more aggressive, and an extra batter can be useful at times, like Mahipal Lomror played a match-defining cameo in the last game.

With more batters in their team, RCB can float up Anuj and Lomror as low-value wickets and take on the KKR’s spin trio and put them under pressure. However, with a light bowling attack at his disposal, the captain Faf du Plessis will have to be shrewd with the usage of the bowlers.