The first half of the tournament is set to end when Kolkata Knight Riders take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore st Sharjah. It will be the last match of the first leg of this IPL, and it will be interesting to see if there is any mid-season player transfer among the franchises. Both the skippers Dinesh Karthik & Virat Kohli, played a match-winning knock for their respective sides last game.
RCB posted a comfortable win over a struggling CSK by 37 runs thanks to Kohli’s brilliance, who scored a stunning unbeaten 90 from 52 balls. While Kohli’s return to his usual self is happy news for RCB, their bowling department looks much stronger with Morris’s inclusion in the team. All their bowlers, particularly Morris and Sundar, did an exceptional job defending the score of 17. With this win, they sit pretty in the top half of the table.
KKR, on the other hand, won 2 games on the trot that they should have lost, but thanks to some sloppy cricket from CSK and KXIP, they managed to win from the jaws of defeat. The major positive for them is Dinesh Karthik, who played a scintillating knock of 58 from 29 while the others were struggling, and it reminded us of how great a finisher he is. Gill played a great supporting hand as KKR posted a not so daunting 164 batting first, and the likes of Prasidh Krishna, Narine bowled great spells as the KKR won by 2 runs.
You can read about our fantasy tips for picking your winning Dream11 team here. Following are the match preview and team analysis for the game.
Key players from both sides
Batsman – Virat Kohli, Ab De Villiers, Nitish Rana, and Rahul Tripathi.
Virat Kohli is back to his best, and this is bad news for all the KKR bowlers, especially with the game being played in Sharjah. Knowing Virat’s batting capabilities over the years, he is not someone who throws away his good form. Ab De Villiers, who scored a couple of 50 plus scores in the first few games, has been relatively subdued off late, and one can expect brilliance from him this game. Nitish Rana has not made his start count as he used to do in previous seasons, and this Sharjah surface will provide him the best opportunity to do so. Rahul Tripathi is an attacking opener who likes ball coming onto the bat, and KKR will hope he will give them a quick start.
All Rounder- Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Sunil Narine, and Andre Russell.
Chris Morris had a great debut in RCB colors last game with a great fast bowling spell, taking 3-19 and was not required with the bat. He will be quite handy with both bat and ball in Sharjah, so is Washington Sundar, who has shown his ability to bowl in the power plays with great effect while scoring crucial runs in the middle-order. Sunil Narine had a couple of great outings at the ball and has been given the role of the death bowler to which he has adapted so far. Andre Russell had an injury scare, and we have to see if he is fit enough to play the game. If he does, he will be a definite player to watch out for.
Bowlers – Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, and Pat Cummins.
The likes of Udana and Saini will have play a major role in the RCB’s bowling department as this will be their first game in Sharjah, and will need to be highly accurate. Udana’s variations and Saini’s raw pace will come in handy when they play KKR at this venue. Prasidh Krishna showcased a brilliant spell of fast bowling (3-29) especially when all seemed lost for KKR as Punjab required just 20 runs in 2 overs. Pat Cummins’s experience will come into play and if he is able to pick early wickets it will dent RCB’s batting order.
Battles to look forward
- Pat Cummins vs Aaron Finch
- Sunil Narine vs Virat Kohli and Ab De Villiers
- Chris Morris vs Andre Russell, Eoin Morgan
We have seen Aaron Finch’s troubles against swing and seam bowlers in the last few games, but he is a quality player, and when he faces his Aussie teammate Cummins, it will set the tone for the rest of the innings for both the teams. Sunil Narine is coming to bowl whenever the opposition’s best batsman comes to the crease, and Karthik will most likely use him when the RCB’s batting mainstay Virat and ABD are batting. It’s not yet clear whether Andre Russell plays or not, but if he does, his matchup against Chris Morris will be great to watch as the former is frequently troubled by fast bowlers this year.
Head to Head between RCB and KKR.
- Matches Played: 25
- RCB Won: 10
- KKR won: 15
Significant Approaching Milestones.
3- Virat Kohli needs 3 more maximums to complete 200 IPL career 6’s.
Match conditions
Venue: Sharjah cricket stadium, Sharjah.
Date & Timings: October 12, 2020, at 7.30 PM IST.
Weather: Clear with the temperature around 34 C.
Pitch: Likely to be a great batting surface with possible due later on.
