Raipur, May 13: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) won the toss and chose to bowl first in the 57th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday. The toss was delayed to 8:30 PM instead of the scheduled 7 PM due to heavy rain at Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium, with the match set to start at 8:45 PM. Despite the downpour, officials confirmed that there would be no reduction in overs.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar expressed confidence after winning the toss, stating, “We will bowl first. I believe it’s a similar wicket to the one we played on last time. We will try to keep them under pressure. The wicket will behave similarly, although the bounce may vary. Everyone’s confidence is quite high. Every match is important, and we are focusing on playing good cricket. Venkatesh Iyer has replaced Shephard in the team.”
On the other hand, KKR captain Ajinkya Rahane noted, “The last four matches have been good for us. We need to focus on one match at a time. Varun is out for this match, and Saurabh has come in.”
The toss and match start were delayed due to continuous rain and a wet outfield. After a 30-minute downpour at 4:30 PM, the ground was covered. Light rain resumed around 6:15 PM, and as the super soppers worked on the field, the ground was covered again. Heavy rain and lightning followed shortly after.
However, conditions improved slightly just five minutes before the scheduled toss time. On-field umpires Rohan Pandit and Nitin Menon, along with fourth umpire Kaushik Gandhi, inspected the field while staff carefully removed water covers. The announcement of a revised time came after further delays due to lightning.
The pitch in Raipur has not been easy for batting, and bowlers are expected to take advantage of the moisture in the ground caused by the rain. RCB aims to secure a win to reach the top of the points table, currently sitting second with seven wins out of eleven matches. KKR, on the other hand, is in eighth place after losing five out of ten matches. A win for RCB would give them 16 points, nearly securing their playoff spot.
KKR’s Playing XI: Ajinkya Rahane (Captain), Finn Allen, Cameron Green, Angkrish Raghuwanshi (Wicketkeeper), Rovman Powell, Manish Pandey, Rinku Singh, Sunil Narine, Anukul Roy, Vaibhav Arora, Kartik Tyagi.
RCB’s Playing XI: Jacob Bethel, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (Captain), Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper), Tim David, Venkatesh Iyer, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Jacob Duffy, Josh Hazlewood.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.
