Indian Premier League: Game 33
Stadium: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
23rd April 2023
Playing in their seventh game of the season Kolkata Knight Riders will welcome Chennai Super Kings in the 33rd game of the season at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on 23rd April. KKR will be looking to win after a poor performance against DC in the last game. Who will win this game?
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Over the past week, the Kolkata Knight Riders have witnessed a steep decline in form, suffering three consecutive losses. Consequently, they have slipped out of the top four and currently occupy the bottom three spots. Nitesh Rana, the captain, seems one-dimensional and makes peculiar decisions on the field.
Due to the absence of crucial players such as Shreyas Iyer and Shakib Al-Hasan, the team has seen some decent batting performances from Venkatesh Iyer, Nitesh Rana, and Rinku Singh, resulting in a couple of victories. Nevertheless, the team's performance has been affected in recent matches due to the lack of big names in the top order.
In an attempt to bolster their squad, KKR has brought in Jason Roy as a replacement for Shakib, and Litton Das has also joined the team. We hope to see some impressive performances from them in the upcoming matches. However, KKR has mostly relied on some close and miraculous victories, which is not something that can be banked on.
KKR's bowling line-up seems to be the weakest in IPL 2023, with Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, and Lockie Ferguson struggling to pick up wickets. While the spinners - Varun Chakaravarthy, Sunil Narine, and Suyash Sharma - have done well, taking 21 wickets collectively, the pace attack has been lacking. Additionally, the Eden Gardens pitch has been quite batsman-friendly, offering very little support to the spinners.
Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Lineup
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, N Jagadeesan, Nitish Rana (c), Rinku Singh, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakaravarthy
Chennai Super Kings
The Rajasthan Royals have been performing consistently well this season and held the top spot on the points table for almost a week before suffering a loss against the Lucknow Super Giants, which has now pushed them down. However, they are determined to get back on track and resume their winning ways.
In their last game, the Royals experienced a rare middle-order failure despite a good start from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler, and they failed to chase down a modest target of 155 runs. Nonetheless, the team remains positive and is expected to come back stronger.
Although the form of Sanju Samson and Devdutt Padikkal has been somewhat inconsistent, they have already scored enough runs to play a crucial role in this match. Shimron Hetmeyer and Dhruv Jurel have been consistent performers, and the Royals will depend on them to provide a good finish in the death overs.
The Royals are known for their ability to hit sixes, and on a small ground, this could be a formidable batting lineup that would be difficult to stop.
The Royals possess a well-balanced bowling unit, led by Yuzvendra Chahal, who has picked up 11 wickets and is in contention for the Purple Cap for the second consecutive season. Ravichandran Ashwin has provided excellent support, while Trent Boult will lead the pace attack alongside Sandeep Sharma, with Jason Holder likely to contribute during the middle overs.
Chahal has a track record of success at the Chinnaswamy Stadium during his time with RCB, and Trent Boult is likely to target Virat Kohli early in the game. Both players are expected to be key performers in this matchup.
Chennai Super Kings Predicted Lineup
Devon Conway, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ajinkya Rahane, Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Maheesh Theekshana, Matheesha Pathirana, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Singh
Expert betting tips
The pitch here has produced high scores in three out of the four innings played this season, indicating its quality. Hence, we can expect another high-scoring encounter with the team batting first aiming to set a target of over 200 runs. Moreover, the pitch offers a good amount of bounce and is flat. Although the temperature will remain below 30 degrees, there is a chance of showers in the afternoon and evening, which is why captains may prefer to chase. Considering the current form of both teams, the Chennai Super Kings are likely to have an advantage. They have a strong opening pair and middle order, as well as a few good seamers in the squad. In contrast, the home team is lacking in quality seamers. The presence of experienced internationals and a well-settled lineup, along with confidence from recent successes, should enable CSK to maintain their excellent start in IPL 2023.
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