Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Match: Royal Challengers Bangalore Vs Kolkata Knight Riders

Date: 12 October 2020

Place (venue):  Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Tournament: Indian Premier League 2020

Format: Twenty20

Can RCB unleash their power against the promising KKR?

Key Stats

In the last 5 head-to-head matches, KKR have won 4, while RCB have won just 1 match.

Both KKR and RCB have won 3 matches each in 5 matches and are placed third and fourth on the points table.

For RCB, Paddikal has scored 3 half-centuries in 5 matches and accumulated 178 runs.

Match Preview

Both teams are to play one match before taking on each other at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday evening with the stage set for both teams to demonstrate the batting power they boast.

RCB will be facing KKR with the humiliating loss hovering at the back of their mind.  A defeat by a margin of 59 runs against DC has damaged their run rate as well. They will be eyeing a comprehensive win against KKR.

KKR claimed a good win against CSK and are confident with their bowling as they defended 168 runs convincingly. With the help of the spin duo of Narine and Chakravarty, KKR restricted CSK to 157 for 5. Tripathi was awarded the Man of the Match against CSK for his brilliant 81 runs.

Kolkata Knight Riders Preview

With a brilliant bowling performance, KKR registered a win against CSK, which was much needed for the KKR bowlers to get a revamp in this tournament. KKR will take advantage of the gained confidence while facing RCB after their match against KXIP.

Opener Rahul Tripathi grabbed the opportunity with both hands and scored a magnificent 81 off 51 deliveries. He scored 117 runs in just 2 matches at an average of 58.50 while his partner Shubham Gill threw his wicket in his last two innings after getting decent starts of 11(12) against CSK and 28(22) against DC. Although Nitish Rana and Eoin Morgan both got out early on single-digit scores, they have scored 382 runs together for KKR in the last 5 matches.

The horror show continues for the captain Dinesh Karthik as he has scored only 49 runs in 5 matches. Andre Russell’s batting hasn’t been up to the mark as he has scored just 50 runs in 5 matches but has compensated with 5 wickets in 5 matches. Pat Cummins has to decide his lengths as he was wicketless again in his 4 overs. Narine and Chakravarty contained the run rate and scalped one wicket each. Mavi and Nagarkotti bagged one wicket each in their 3-over spells.

Varun Chakravarty is the leading wicket-taker for KKR with 5 wickets in 4 matches. Shubhman Gill is the leading run-scorer with 163 runs in 5 matches at an average of 40.75

Key Players: Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan and Shubham Gill

Probable Playing XI

Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Dinesh Karthik (c & wk), Eoin Morgan, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Preview

RCB’s performance hasn’t been consistent to be fair. The big guns are yet to unleash their best performance this year. The strongest batting order almost getting all out against DC is demoralising. RCB will play against CSK before taking on KKR, the side which defeated CSK comprehensively.

The top order failed in the last two matches to form good partnerships. Paddikal and Finch’s highest partnership was of 81 runs against MI. Paddikal got out cheaply for 4(6) while Finch nicked one to the keeper and got out on 13 runs off 14 balls. Virat Kohli fought well with his 43 runs off 39 balls. Devilliers and Moeen Ali both failed to form any partnerships with Kohli and departed early.

The tail has been contributing well and scored a total of 46 runs against DC. Washington Sundar’s economy has been mind-boggling as he bowled 15 overs in 5 matches with an economy of 4.80. Mohammad Siraj scalped 2 wickets in 4 overs. Udana and Moeen Ali got one wicket each but went for 10 an over. Saini and Chahal remained wicketless in their 4-over spell.

Bowling for RCB is still an issue as they look inconsistent in the death overs and couldn’t strike early in the powerplays.

Devdutt Paddikal is the leading run-scorer for RCB in this IPL with 178 runs at the top and the spinner Yuzvendra Chahal is the leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets in 5 matches.

Key players: Virat Kohli, Yuzvendra Chahal and AB de Villiers.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Probable Starting XI :

Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Moeen Ali, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Venue

Batsmen are simply in love with the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Teams have scored 200+ runs in 7 out of 8 innings played at this venue. RCB will be playing for the first time here while KKR have lost the one they played there.

Toss Info

Teams have preferred to bat first and post a big total. Teams batting first have won three times in 4 matches played until now. There is no help for the bowlers as such. So, it’s a good toss to win to bat first and put a mammoth total on the board.

Weather Report

The weather in Sharjah will be breezy and humid with a wind speed of around 15 kph and humidity of more than 55%. The pitch offers nothing for the bowlers, whereas batsmen can exploit throughout the innings as the ball comes much better to the bat under lights.

Our Prediction

KKR’s record against RCB is quite good and KKR will be entering the match with a bigger advantage in terms of bowling and batting compared to RCB. The bowling lineup of KKR seems much balanced than RCB’s as they have shown that they can score big as well as defend par totals. So, KKR fancies their chances of a win against RCB.

We predict KKR to come victorious against RCB.

Disclaimer: Our match previews are fully researched but as per the nature of the game, anything is possible on the match day. You are advised to decide for yourself when betting on a team. Thanks!