Bengaluru, October 12: Kolkata Knight Riders will have little margin for error when they take on Virat Kohli's resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore in an IPL 2020 game on Monday (October 12) in Sharjah.
The two sides have won four of their six games with KKR ahead of RCB on net run rate but inconsistency in batting has been an issue for both the teams. KKR are third in the standings and the two-time champions will be going all out for a victory at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. Be a part of the excitement through MyKhel Dream11 tips.
1. Team News - Kolkata Knight Riders
The biggest cause of concern for Knight Riders will be the availability of Andre Russell, who hurt his knee when he dived into the advertisement boards after missing a catch on Saturday. Skipper Dinesh Karthik did not reveal the extent of the injury after the match against KXIP. KKR have battled batting inconsistencies this year.
Shubman Gill has been fabulous at the top with two half-centuries so far. Rahul Tripathi, who replaced Sunil Narine as opener, scored 81 against CSK but failed against KXIP. Nitish Rana has looked good in patches while Eoin Morgan has also been erratic. Karthik, who copped up a lot of criticism for his batting, was back among runs with a vital 29-ball 58 against KXIP.
KKR's bowling unit has been sensational in the last two games, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat and the bowlers will be high on confidence when they take on RCB.
2. Team News - Royal Challengers Bangalore
The biggest positive for RCB is that captain Kohli has got his touch back after ordinary performances at the beginning. Devdutt 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. Aaron Finch has also struggled, failing to capitalise on his starts.
RCB bowling department, led by Yuzvendra Chahal, got a major boost with South African Chris Morris coming in to the side. The all-rounder was brilliant in his first appearance, bowling tight lines with a hint of away movement from right-handers.
3. Playing XI
Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Singh, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal.
4. Dream11
Shubman Gill, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Rahul Tripathi, Eoin Morgan, Sunil Narine, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna.
5. Head to head
KKR and RCB have met 24 times in IPL and the former holds a 14-10 edge.
6. Match details
Date: October 12
Time: 7.30 PM IST
Live telecast: Star Sports Networks
Live streaming: Disney + Hotstar VIP
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