Kolkata Knight Riders:
The new KKR side will play their first game today under their new skipper Dinesh Karthik : ‘The Finisher’.
Probable11:
Narine, Lynn, Uthappa, Rana, DK (C & Wk), Rinku/Gill/Nagarkoti, Russell, Chawla, Johnson/Curran, Vinay/Nagarkoti, Kuldeep.
*Venky after the auction hinted Narine can open once again. But, as their team composition is still not confirmed & to accommodate Gill they can opt for Lynn-Gill combo as well. (Highly unlikely)
*Veteran Vinay Kumar would love conditions at Eden & should be preferred over the two young U19 seamers.
*Even though there’s nothing much for the spinners at Eden, as per Katich KKR can still go with 3 spinners (Narine, Kuldeep & Chawla)
X Factor: Lynnsanity & Russell
Exciting Young Talent: Gill, Rinku, Nagarkoti & Mavi.
Royal Challengers Banglore:
Probable11:
McCullum, Parthiv (wk), Kohli, ABD, Sarfaraz/Mandeep, Grandhomme, Woakes, Sundar, Umesh, Chahal, Aniket/Kulwant/Siraj.
*McCullum should be preferred over back in form QDK.
*Kohli will bat at 3 as confirmed by him in the press conference.
*Grandhomme, Woakes should be the other two overseas for RCB.
* Negi has been really good last season for RCB which can give him a place in the starting 11 but considering they are playing their first game in Edens, one b/w Aniket & Kulwant should play. I’ll be really disappointed if they start with Siraj.
X Factor: RCB’s top four.
Exciting young talent: Kulwant, Navdeep, Deshpande.
Fantasy Picks:
Wk: DK should be a better choice.
Batsman: With Kohli & ABD available, don’t even think about leaving them, same goes for Lynn.
Can go for one b/w Rana & Uthappa. (Rana would be my choice, you can pick both)
All-rounders: Both ex knight riders, Woakes & Grandhomme are an excellent choice & so is Dre Russ & Narine.
Would prefer Dre Russ, Woakes & Grandhomme for this game.
Bowlers: Kuldeep, Umesh, Chahal are the safest choices available, don’t try to experiment much in the bowling department.
Good Luck.