Playing XI
Venue Insights (Sharjah)
Highest Team Total : 228/4 By Delhi Against Kolkata In 2020.
Lowest Team Total : 121/10 By Sunrisers Hyderabad Against Punjab In 2014
Highest Individual Score : 106 By Mayank Agarwal (Punjab) Against Rajasthan In 2020
Best Bowling Figures : 4/13 By Lakshmipathy Balaji (Punjab) Against Hyderabad In 2014.
Highest Partnership : 183 By KL Rahul And Mayank Agarwal (Punjab) For 1st Wicket Against Rajasthan In 2020.
Win Rate Batting First : 60% (6 Won; 4 Lost)
Top Fantasy Picks - All Rounders
Morris did not start in the for Bengaluru at the start owing to match fitness, but he showed why he is one of the best white ball all-rounder with a 3-fer against Chennai. Apart from his bowling, we all know how handy he can be with super cameos with bat.
Narine did not have much success with the bowl initially in the tournament, however he has come back strongly in the recent 2 matches picking up 3 wickets. Also, he might be itching to bat as he has a good record against Bengaluru with the bat.
If not wickets with the ball, Dube performs well down the order with the bat with his useful cameos. He has already taken 4 wickets and scored 79 runs in this tournament.
Top Fantasy Picks - Bowlers
In his first match of this season, Prasidh Krishna gave a performance of 3/29 and thus Kolkata will certainly continue with the services of him in the upcoming fixture as well. He has always performed well for Kolkata in previous IPL seasons as well.
Yuzvendra Chahal has taken a total of 9 wickets; joint 2nd highest among spinners this season. He is also the highest wicket taker for Bengaluru this season.
Isuru is an excellent bowler at the death who comes with the full package of variations. He has not yet been wicket-less in any match so far picking up 6 wickets in his 4 matches.
Top Fantasy Picks - Batsmen & Keepers
King Kohli impressed once against with a 90* against Chennai and proved that why
he is one of the best in the world. After a disappointing start initially, he returned with three consecutive 40+ scores (90*, 43 and 72*)
ABD has been kept quiet by the opposition in the last 3 matches. But the way he started this season (51, 28, 55*) in his first 3 matches, he is certainly a player whom you cannot keep out from your team.
With 220 runs, he is the highest run-getter for Kolkata this season. The next match will be at Sharjah, where the top-order batsmen are amongst the run-scorers.
Probable XI
Bangalore : Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Kolkata : Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c) (wk), Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti.
Preview
Monday evening will witness the clash between Bangalore and Kolkata in Sharjah. Both teams achieved victories in their last outing and will be pumped with confidence. Kolkata's win was an unlikely one as they stole it from nowhere whereas Bangalore put up a clinical show to outclass Chennai. The batting of both teams has started to come good and it's their bowling which needs continuous progress, especially for Kolkata. Just like Kohli, Karthik also struck good form finally and that will strengthen Kolkata's batting who will be sweating over Russell's fitness. Bangalore will be hoping to keep up the good work in their first match this season in Sharjah. The pitch there of late has started to aid the bowlers and it's offering a fair battlefield. Who will prevail?
Bangalore at Sharjah : Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Kolkata at Sharjah : Played 2, Won 1, Lost 1
Toss : Bangalore won the toss and have opted to bat first.