IPL 2021 RCB vs KKR Eliminator: Virat Kohli opts to bat first, here’s why

Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2021 Eliminator at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday. Both Kohli and Kolkata skipper Eoin Morgan confirmed no changes to their respective playing elevens.

File image (Source: Twitter)

Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) won the toss and opted to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Eliminator of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday.

At the time of the toss, RCB captain Virat Kohli explained why he opted to bat first: "We are going to bat first, looks like a great wicket, nice and hard. It gets tougher to bat here in Sharjah. No changes. A youngster steps up and wins you a game against a top side like Delhi. Very happy for Srikar Bharat. This is what this tournament is all about. Meetings have been pretty short and sharp. We have the ability to win games, nothing changes this being an Eliminator."

On the other hand, KKR skipper Eoin Morgan said: "We would have loved to bowl first anyway. The toss doesn't bother. We are feeling confident within the group, we are starting to come good as a team. We are playing with the same team."

The Royal Knight begins. #PlayBold #WeAreChallengers #ನಮ್ಮRCB #IPL2021 #RCBvKKR #PlayOffs pic.twitter.com/eYerRiyvMI — Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) October 11, 2021

RCB had won their last game against Delhi Capitals in the group stage while KKR had outclassed Rajasthan Royals.

Playing XI: RCB: Virat Kohli(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat(w), Daniel Christian, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, George Garton, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

KKR: Shubman Gill, Venkatesh Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sunil Narine, Shivam Mavi, Lockie Ferguson, Varun Chakravarthy.