IPL 2021 Match Prediction: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore. 31st Match. Who Will Win?

The 2021 IPL resumption got off to a great start as the Chennai Super Kings beat the Mumbai Indians by 20 runs to win the first match of the second half of the tournament. The next match to be played will see the Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Kolkata Knight Riders have just two wins from the seven matches that they have played and sit seventh in the table, while the Royal Challengers Bangalore have five wins from seven and sit in third. Who do we think we go on to win this match? Well, read on and all will be revealed, our friend.

Kolkata Knight Riders Team Preview

Many of the franchises have had to deal with some players being unavailable this time around, and the Kolkata Knight Riders are no exception. For example, they will not have Pat Cummins available and this really is a big blow. Not only was he their leading wicket taker, but he also had a strike rate above 150. He has been replaced by Tim Southee, but we honestly do not believe that he is that suited for the UAE conditions.

In the first half of the tournament, the Kolkata Knight Riders had an issue with their batting because the likes of Eoin Morgan and Shubman Gil underperformed, while the likes of Andre Russel was inconsistent. However, Russel was in great form in the recently completed Caribbean Premier League, so they will be hoping that he carries this form into the IPL.

The other players in their top-order are Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, and Dinesh Karthik, meaning that they have a weaker batting lineup overall when compared to the Royal Challengers Bangalore.

When it comes to their bowling attack, Sunil Narine and Varun Chakravarthy will be their main weapons, but we feel that Lockie Ferguson will have a part to play as well. He is one of the best bowlers in T20 thanks to his extreme pace, fantastic slower delivery, and brilliant yorker.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Team Preview

The Royal Challengers Bangalore have had to make a number of changes to their squad. In fact, they have made the five changes that they were allowed to make with Tim David, Wanindu Hasaranga, George Garton, Dushmanth Chameera, and Akash Deep all joining the squad. Their biggest loss is Washington Sundar, who was important for them in the Powerplay and was handy with the bat down the order.

Devdutt Padikkal will continue at the top of the order, and it is likely that Virat Kohli will bat alongside him for the rest of the tournament. Then the talented Glenn Maxwell will bat at four and AB de Villiers will come in at five. They use a floating number three position, so the batsman that comes in at three will depend on the match situation.

This is already a really good batting lineup, and they are spoiled for choice when it comes to other key spots. For instance, we think that Mohammed Azharuddeen will bat at six, but they could easily go for the likes of Kyle Jamieson or Wanindu Hasaranga.

When it comes to their bowling attack, they have sheer quality in the likes of Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Mohammed Siraj. This is an attack that should cause opposition batsmen plenty of problems on the slow and low wickets that are found in the UAE.

Toss Prediction

The captain who goes on to win the toss will want to bowl first and then chase the target down. It is unlikely that the pitch will change that much over the course of the match and the outfield will be pretty fast too. Six of the last seven matches that were played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi were won by the team batting second.

Pitch and Conditions

The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium is often flat and very good for batting. There is a nice amount of bounce and gives the batsmen the chance to play shots freely. The bowlers will have to work for their wickets, but the spinners can get some help off the surface. The team that bats first will be hoping to score at least 170, which is a par score on this wicket.

Our Match Prediction

We think that there is only one winner in this match, and that will be the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Overall, their batting lineup is much stronger than their opponents. We know that they have had to make a number of changes to their squad, but we feel that the players they have acquired for the second part of this competition will not let them down.

Our match prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore to win.