IPL 2020, RCB vs KKR LIVE (Source: IPL)IPL 2020, RCB vs KKR Team Predicted Playing 11 for Today Match Live Updates: Knight Riders will have little margin for error when they take on Virat Kohli’s resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in an Indian Premier League game on Monday.
The biggest positive for RCB is that captain Kohli has finally got his touch back after ordinary performances at the beginning of the season. Padikkal has been in good touch, but AB de Villiers, who played some exquisite knocks at the beginning of the tournament, has looked off colour in recent outings. The big-hitting Aaron Finch has also struggled, failing to capitalise on his starts.
Meanwhile for KKR, the biggest cause of concern will be the availability of big-hitter Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday. Shubman Gill has been fabulous at the top with two half centuries so far. Nitish Rana has looked good in patches while Eoin Morgan has also been erratic. Skipper Karthik, who copped up a lot of criticism for his batting, was back among runs with a vital 29-ball 58 against KXIP.
SQUADS
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (c/wk), Eoin Morgan, Shubman Gill, Tom Banton, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Kuldeep Yadav, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Rinku Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Nikhil Naik, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy and Siddhesh Lad.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, 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.
Kolkata Knight Riders: Dinesh Karthik (c/wk), Eoin Morgan, Shubman Gill, Tom Banton, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Nitish Rana, Rahul Tripathi, Kuldeep Yadav, Pat Cummins, Prasidh Krishna, Lockie Ferguson, Rinku Singh, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Nikhil Naik, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Sandeep Warrier, Varun Chakravarthy and Siddhesh Lad.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Parthiv Patel, 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.
"Whenever Russell gets injured, you know it is hard. He is a very special player, he is a very special person. We need to go and look at him," he said.
For KKR, the biggest cause of concern will be the availability of big-hitter Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday.
KKR are placed third in the standings and the two-time champions will be going all out for a victory at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium after registering two back-to-back wins against Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab. RCB, on the other hand, are coming into the game following a 37-run morale boosting victory against CSK and will fancy their chances.
Kolkata Knight Riders on Monday hoped that there would be an “appropriate resolution” to the issue of their spinner Sunil Narine being reported for a suspect bowling action. The franchise, however, did not say whether he will be left out of the team.
'This came as a surprise to the franchise considering that he has played over 115 games in the IPL since 2012 and as many as 68 games since 2015, when he was last reported during the IPL season for a suspect action. We are hopeful that there would be an appropriate resolution quickly. We appreciate the cooperation being extended by the IPL," said a statement.
Andre Russell, has always enjoyed playing against Bangalore, scoring 323 runs at an average of 53.83 and strike rate of 227.46. On the other hand, Kohli has accumulated 647 runs at an average of 37.44 and strike rate of 131.64 versus KKR.
The two teams have faced each other 24 times in the IPL so far, with KKR holding a 14-10 head-to-head win/loss record over RCB. During IPL 2014's UAE leg, KKR had faced off against RCB in Sharjah where the former won the encounter by just two runs. Overall, the Knight Riders have won the IPL twice and also reached a Champions League T20 (CLT20) final. Bangalore has lost three IPL finals and one CLT20 summit clash.
Kolkata Knight Riders Predicted Playing XI: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Sunil Narine, Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik (c) (wk), Eoin Morgan, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Prasid Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy, Kamlesh Nagarkoti
Royal Challengers Bangalore Predicted Playing XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Barring Delhi Capitals and Mumbai Indians, on current form, RCB appear the most adept to break KKR’s winning momentum. A stark contrast to their previous three editions, RCB have had a good start to the season, winning four games out of six. To make matters even better, their captain Virat Kohli, who began with scores of 14, 1, and 3, has hit form, his match-winning 90 being one of the best IPL knocks of the season. With very similar strengths and barely any weakness, RCB and KKR will jostle for a position.
Pant had injured himself in the match against Rajasthan Royals on Friday. DC missed Pant as they slumped to a five-wicket defeat against defending champions Mumbai Indians on Sunday and lost the top place in the points table.
“We have no idea (on Rishabh’s availability), the doctor said he has to rest for a week and hope he comes back really strong,” Iyer said at the post match presentation ceremony.
Asked about an incident involving SRH bowler Khaleel Ahmed, he said, “No big deal, we just got taken away in the heat of the moment.”
After last night's match which saw Delhi going down to Mumbai, the two sides continue to maintain their spot at the top of the IPL Points table with MI holding a slightly better NRR.
Kings XI Punjab openers Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul are enjoying a superb run in the ongoing IPL. Rahul leads the run-scorers' tally with 387 runs.
Delhi Capitals' pacer Kagiso Rabada shot to the top of the wicket-leading table with a total of 17 wickets in 7 matches. Among the bowlers, it has been MI's Jasprit Bumrah, who now stands at the second, impressing the most. The fast bowler from India has been very consistent so far and has already scalped 11 wickets from six games.
POINTS TABLE, ORANGE CAP, PURPLE CAP
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of IPL 2020 and today, Virat Kohli's Bangalore takes on Dinesh Karthik's Kolkata in Match 28 of the tournament. Stay tuned for live updates, predicted playing XI and other IPL related news.