Struggling Kolkata Knight Riders Seek Change Of Fortunes Against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Kolkata Knight Riders will be desperate to bring their flagging campaign back on track while Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to shrug off the overdependence on its top three batters when the two teams clash in the IPL in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The two-time champions have looked clueless in their last four outings, losing at home while also on the road. The Nitish Rana-led side is currently at seventh spot with just two wins from seven games. The losses can largely be pegged down to the shoddy performance by KKR batters. They are missing their regular skipper Shreyas Iyer and star all-rounder Shakib-Al-Hasan.

In the 49-run loss against Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, KKR batters were expected to rise to the occasion, chasing a 230 plus score, instead the top-order, comprising the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Rana and N Jagadeesan crumbled under pressure.

KKR have also struggled to zero in on their opening pair. The former champions have shuffled around with Sunil Narine, Jagadeesan, Litton Das, Jason Roy and Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the top.

Their decision to send Narine to open the innings along side Jagadeesan against CSK failed as the West Indian departed for a duck.

Had it not been for Roy and Rinku Singh's fifties the margin of defeat would have been worse.

The duo's performance is the silver lining in an otherwise dismal show against CSK.

The big-hitting Andre Russell has also failed miserably in his role as the finisher. He hasn't been able to hit the big shots and the fact that KKR send him at number seven or eight has not been helpful.

The all-rounder's fitness is also a concern. He hasn't bowled his quota of four overs even once this season as he often gets injured while bowling.

But KKR will walk into the game