Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) currently sits at the top of the IPL points table after one week of action in IPL 2021. This is a strange position for RCB to be in as they have not had great starts in the IPL and tend to be rather inconsistent.
The fact that they have won 2 in a row shows that RCB have finally got their issues sorted out and will now look to make it 3 in a row on April 18 when they take on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who have won one game and lost another so far.
RCB go in as the betting favorites in this game with odds of 1.72 while KKR are the underdogs with odds of 2.10. If you are looking to bet on the RCB vs. KKR game on Sunday night and want to check out the IPL betting odds and place a bet, you can do so at any of the following sportsbooks listed below.
Our experts breakdown this game for you and see if RCB can make it three in a row or if KKR will be a little too powerful for them!
RCB – Keys To Victory
RCB have done well in their last two games because they have delivered with both the bat and the ball. They have also played like a team in this 2021 IPL edition and have not looked to just Virat Kohli or AB Devilliers to help them win games. One main reason for this turnaround is because RCB made some big decisions during the IPL auction and those decisions are paying off already.
Glenn Maxwell has scored for RCB in both games contributing 39 and 59 in the first two games. The Big Show is a match winner and one of the most dangerous players in the T20 format. If Virat Kohli can bring out the best in Maxwell during the IPL, RCB’s is going to score big totals.
RCB have also done well in the bowling department with H Patel making a huge difference in the bowling line-up. He took 5 wickets in the first game and chipped in with an economical spell and two wickets in the second game.
RCB will want to use the game against KKR to get some of their other players firing. D Padikkal, Dan Christian, S Ahmed and W Sundar are some of the players that need to contribute more.
KKR – Keys To Victory
KKR won their first game against SRH as their top order made runs with N Rana (80) and R Tripathi (53) making more than 70 percent of their runs. Their bowlers did a good job to restrict SRH and win though none of them were very impressive.
KKR did a lot better in the bowling department in their second game against the defending champs Mumbai Indians as Andre Russell picked up 5 wickets and kept Mumbai Indians to just 152. Even though N Rana (57) played another good knock, the rest of the KKR batting line-up folded like a deck of cards.
KKR’s biggest weakness looks to be their batting department and that is something that Eoin Morgan needs to address before playing RCB. Don’t expect KKR to make any changes to the top order as N Rana and S Gill did well against the Mumbai Indians and R Tripathi made runs in the first game.
The big concern is the middle-order as the captain Eoin Morgan and all-rounder Shakib Al Hassan need to do more with the bat. One thing they can do is get D Karthik and A Russell to bat higher up the order against RCB.
Verdict
We believe this is going to be a close match as KKR will fight back. We think RCB might falter in this game and hence will put our money no KKR.
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