Team Bangalore will hope to continue their winning streak in the Indian T20 League on Sunday, April 18, when take on Kolkata at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Winning two of their opening two matches, Virat Kohli's Bangalore are the only team to have a 100% winning record in the tournament this season. Kolkata, on the other hand, have won one and lost another in their opening two games and will look to get their campaign on track against Bangalore.
And the two-time Indian T20 League champions have good reason to believe they can do that, given their head-to-head against Team Bangalore. Team Kolkata also edges out Bangalore in their record at the Chepauk, despite losing their last match at the venue.
| Head-to-Head | ||
| Bangalore | Metrics | Kolkata |
| 26 | Matches | 26 |
| 12 | Wins | 14 |
| 46.16 % | Win Percentage | 53.85% |
| MA Chidambaram Stadium | ||
| Bangalore | Metrics | Kolkata |
| 11 | Matches | 11 |
| 2 | Wins | 3 |
| 36.36% | Win Percentage | 27.27% |
Contrary to popular belief, Team Kolkata has been the better side when batting first as opposed to Bangalore. While Kolkata average 178.6 in their last five matches while batting first, Bangalore's batting average stands at 143.2 on the same parameters.
Kolkata's only win this season, so far, has come when they batted first (vs Hyderabad), and they will look to continue the same if given a chance. Hence, toss becomes an important factor here.
| Coin Toss and H2H last 5 matches | ||
| Bangalore | Metrics | Kolkata |
| 1 | Tosses Won | 4 |
| 3 | Matches Won | 2 |
| 60% | Win Percentage | 40% |
Bangalore, however, will be encouraged with the record of their three main batsmen going into this encounter. While Virat Kohli has scored 725 runs against Kolkata so far, AB de Villiers have tallied 435 runs and Glenn Maxwell accumulated 339 runs, which make Bangalore a downright favourite going into the match.
For Kolkata, Dinesh Karthik remains the biggest threat for Bangalore with the middle-order batsman scoring 419 runs against them. Regardless of his form, Andre Russell has enjoyed a strike rate of 223.02 against Bangalore and will be crucial if Kolkata are to win.
Yuzvendra Chahal has always been dangerous for Kolkata with the wrist-spinner claiming 14 wickets against them. Kolkata's new recruit Harbhajan Singh, on the other hand, has been a nightmare for Bangalore scalping 23 wickets against Kohli's men in 22 matches.
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Manjunath Kiran
