IPL 2020 Match Preview RCB vs KKR | A Virat chance for Bangalore, Kolkata to top the table

The clash between the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Sharjah on October 12 will decide who leads the points table as the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 reaches the half-way mark. All other teams have already played seven matches. 

Similarities

Both teams have equal points (8) and have four wins from six matches. The two captains Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik have finally found form. If RCB have Devdutt Padikkal as a promising Indian opener, KKR, too, have someone like Shubman Gill.

Differences

While KKR has been consistent performers, they were in the same situation at this juncture in 2019 IPL, RCB, having lost all the six matches at this stage in the last season, had started thinking about the ODI World Cup in England  

RCB are not expected to make any changes to the playing XI, which defeated CSK by 37 runs two days ago. KKR, despite coming back from the brink to win two games back-to-back, are not sure of Andre Russell’s availability for the match as he has fitness issues. Yet, the team is confident and looks like a solid unit. 

“Embodying that moving forward is so powerful that it creates intangible things that great teams talk about. Feeling the moment, the sacrifices that you make, it's all worthwhile. So far we have made it work,” said KKR’s Eoin Morgan in an interview to news agency PTI.

Also read: IPL 2020 | Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kolkata Knight Riders: Fantasy team picks for the match

The Virat factor on a small ground

Kohli once again showed his range of shots and class in the game against Chennai. Like the Australian attack in international cricket, Kohli has a special liking for the KKR bowlers—his last three knocks against Kolkata read 68*, 84 and 100—especially since 2018 as his batting numbers like most runs (283), highest average (94.3), highest strike-rate (154) are anything to go by. And, if he is supported by Aaron Finch, AB de Villiers and Chris Morris in the six-hitting paradise of Sharjah, this may bring back the memories of Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

“The thing about Sharjah is that there has been a spectrum of scores, there have been a couple of 220 scores, but the last game between Rajasthan and Delhi saw a score of 180 there. So it will all depend on the moisture in the wicket or how it is prepared. We have the right sort of balance to play on that wicket, few batsmen are looking forward to the short boundary," Simon Katich, head coach of RCB, said in a video posted on the official Twitter handle of RCB.

Likely XI 

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Virat Kohli (captain), 4 AB de Villiers (wicket-keeper), 5 Gurkeerat Singh Mann, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 Chris Morris, 9 Isuru Udana, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1 Shubman Gill, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Dinesh Karthik (captain, wicket-keeper), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Sunil Narine, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Shivam Mavi, 10 Prasidh Krishna, 11 Varun Chakravarthy

(Vimal Kumar has covered multiple cricket world cups and Rio Olympics in the last two decades. The author of Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century and The Cricket Fanatic’s Essential Guide can be reached @Vimalwa on Twitter)