Royal Challengers Bangalore are currently third on the points table with 12 points, two more than Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at fourth. For both sides, this represents a big chance to consolidate their positions in terms of the top four.
Having finally got some momentum going, Kolkata Knight Riders led by Eoin Morgan will be looking to avenge their first leg rout by the star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore when the two sides clash in the IPL in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
KKR
Eoin Morgan turned to Lockie Ferguson against Sunrisers Hyderabad and the Kiwi responded in style. One expects more of the same against the likes of AB De Villiers, RCB skipper Virat Kohli, and opener Aaron Finch. Morgan will be worried about the fitness of Andre Russell and might give him a breather just before the business end of the tournament.
In spin, it remains to be seen whether they bring in Sunil Narine, whose action has been cleared. Kuldeep Yadav, who too was included against SRH after being benched for eight matches, looked decent along with their regular spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
KKR will also hope their young India batsman Shubman Gill along with Nitish Rana and Rahul Tripathi can provide a good platform for the likes of Morgan and former captain Dinesh Karthik to finish with a flurry.
RCB
Virat Kohli’s side have happy memories of playing KKR, especially ABD, who tore the bowling to shreds with some brutal hitting in Sharjah. The batting is unlikely to change and neither is their plan to have AB and Kohli tee off after Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch set the foundation.
ABD has been in ominous form for them and single-handedly won the game with an unbeaten 55 from 22 balls in their 178-run chase against the Royals. Kohli will also look to convert his starts as they look to brighten their playoff hopes with a double against KKR.
In the bowling department, the likes of Navdeep Saini, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal will be tasked with stopping KKR from taking off with their big hitters. Mohammed Siraj, who has been spoken about for the Australia tour, will have extra motivation to impress the skipper, which augurs well for RCB.
WHAT: IPL 2020, Match 39
WHEN: October 21, 7:30 PM IST
WHERE: Abu Dhabi
TELECAST: Star Sports Network
LIVE STREAMING: Disney + Hotstar
Squads
Kolkata Knight Riders: Eoin Morgan (c), Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Andre Russell, Kuldeep Yadav, Lockie Ferguson, Pat Cummins, Varun Chakravarthy, Sunil Narine, Tom Banton, Siddhesh Lad, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Sandeep Warrior, Shivam Mavi, Rinku Singh, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel (wk), Aaron Finch, Josh Philippe, Chris Morris, Moeen Ali, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn, Pawan Negi, Isuru Udana, Shivam Dube, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Pavan Deshpande, Adam Zampa.
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