Last Updated on 4 years by Charbel Coorey

IPL 2020 Match 39: KKR vs RCB Preview Dream11 Possible Playing 11 Pitch Report | KKR vs RCB Dream11 Prediction Today | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Key Players | Abu Dhabi Pitch Report

The playoffs race is well and truly heating up. After Kings XI Punjab’s third straight win, the teams inside the top four are on notice to continue building momentum, as any slip up will build pressure as the business end of the season fast approaches.

Kolkata Knight Riders, currently in fourth place, can give themselves an important buffer from the chasing pack. Currently on 10 points, KKR can move four points ahead of Kings XI, which is mighty important given their less-than-impressive net run rate of -0.607 (compared to KXIP’s -0.177). The decision to finally play Lockie Ferguson gives KKR another dimension, as the New Zealand fast bowler inspired a Super Over victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad on the weekend. New skipper Eoin Morgan will be hoping for more of the same from Ferguson, as well as a more well-rounded batting display from a team that has been up-and-down so far.

Royal Challengers Bangalore are enjoying their best season since 2016, and their bowling attack has been crucial to their good run of form. RCB have the chance to move level with Delhi Capitals on 14 points, and will be after a repeat of their earlier game against KKR this season, where they won by a massive 82 runs. Along with the bowlers, it was the “superhuman” AB de Villiers who delivered the goods then, and then again last game, blasting a magnificent 22-ball 55 to seal victory for RCB against RR. Can the Virat Kohli-led side take a massive stride towards the playoffs with a win here?

Key Players to Watch/Key Stats

• AB de Villiers is in fine touch. The South African superstar has smashed two unbeaten half-centuries in his past three games, at an overall strike rate of 216.67. This included 73* off 33 balls vs KKR, prompting the RCB skipper to refer to him as “superhuman”.
• However, the presence of Lockie Ferguson makes this match a different challenge for de Villiers and RCB. Ferguson produced a remarkable performance in his first game of the season, taking 3/15 and then two wickets in the Super Over vs SRH.
• Virat Kohli has the most runs in the history of RCB-KKR matches (707, avg. 37.21, SR 129.96). Also, Kohli has been in excellent touch after a slow start to IPL 2020, with 329 runs in his last six innings at an average of 109.67.
• Shubman Gill was the only KKR top order player to show any resistance against RCB earlier this season (34 off 25 balls). Also, Gill has made a plethora of starts in IPL 2020, with eight double-figure scores in a row, but no half-century in his last three matches (34, 21, 36). Is this the day he goes on with a start?
• His opening partner, Rahul Tripathi, has a good record vs RCB: 6 inns, 212 runs, avg. 70.67, SR 133.33, HS 80*.
• Will Andre Russell play? The star all-rounder, who has been out of form, injured his hamstring against SRH. So, it will be interesting to see if KKR play him in this game, as he has a remarkable batting record for KKR vs RCB (308 runs, avg. 51.33, SR 224.82).
• If Russell doesn’t play, then Sunil Narine could be brought back. Narine has had his action cleared, and has the most wickets in KKR-RCB matches out of players in the two current squads (16 in 13 matches). Also, Narine has 194 runs against RCB at a strike rate of 200.
• Eoin Morgan and Dinesh Karthik have key roles to play against RCB’s improved bowling. Both are coming off good contributions vs SRH (34* off 23 for Morgan, 29* off 14 for Karthik).
• RCB’s improved bowling has been headlined by Chris Morris. The South African quick has had a superb start to life with RCB, with nine wickets in four matches so far at an economy rate of just 5.25. He is coming off 4/26 vs SRH, and took 2/17 vs KKR earlier this season.
• Aaron Finch (47) and Devdutt Padikkal (32) put on 67 for the first wicket against KKR earlier in IPL 2020. Can they overcome the likes of Pat Cummins and Lockie Ferguson this time around? Finch has three double-figure scores in a row (47, 20 and 14), and Padikkal has made starts too (33, 32, 18 and 35), but at a sluggish strike rate of 111.32 in his last four games.
• Yuzvendra Chahal took 1/12 in four overs vs KKR earlier this season. He has 12 career wickets in 13 matches for RCB vs KKR, and will be key today. Chahal took 3/24 in his only game at Abu Dhabi so far in IPL 2020.
• His spin partner, Washington Sundar, was also superb in RCB’s win over KKR earlier this season (2/20). His economy rate for the tournament is still under six (5.89).

Stats and Facts

• Head-to-head: Matches 26, KKR 15, RCB 11.
• RCB have won the past two matches against KKR, including earlier this season by 82 runs.
• AB de Villiers has come out to bat in the 11th-12th over three times in IPL 2020. RCB won all those matches, and de Villiers hit 50+ on all three occasions.
• Nitish Rana, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell average less than 15 vs Chris Morris in T20s. Morris will be key again at the death.
• Both RCB and KKR have won four out of five matches when batting first.
• Since IPL 2017, Lockie Ferguson has the best middle overs stats of any pace bowler (min. 10 overs): avg. 11, economy rate 4.8.

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Possible Playing 11

Andre Russell picked up a hamstring injury vs SRH. So, it is possible he will miss this game.

Kolkata Knight Riders: 1. Shubman Gill, 2. Rahul Tripathi, 3. Nitish Rana, 4. Eoin Morgan (c), 5. Andre Russell/Sunil Narine, 6. Dinesh Karthik (wk), 7. Pat Cummins, 8. Lockie Ferguson, 9. Kuldeep Yadav, 10. Varun Chakravarthy, 11. Shivam Mavi

RCB look settled, but one decision they need to make is whether Gurkeerat Singh or Shivam Dube occupies a middle order spot.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1. Devdutt Padikkal, 2. Aaron Finch, 3. Virat Kohli (c), 4. AB de Villiers (wk), 5. Shivam Dube/ Gurkeerat Mann, 6. Chris Morris, 7. Washington Sundar, 8. Isuru Udana, 9. Navdeep Saini, 10. Shahbaz Ahmed, 11. Yuzvendra Chahal

Abu Dhabi Pitch and Weather Report

Chasing teams have enjoyed more success at Abu Dhabi compared to other grounds in IPL 2020. The team batting second has won six of 13 games on this ground this season, including three of the last four games. With dew around, it could be tempting for the captain to bowl first despite both sides possessing a good record when defending scores in 2020.

Dream11 Prediction

Also read: How to create multiple teams in Dream11 and its benefit

Option 2:

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Match Prediction

KKR looks a better side with Lockie Ferguson in it. His presence could actually release the pressure off Pat Cummins, with the two working well in tandem. If this happens, KKR have a great chance of winning. However, RCB start as deserved favourites due to their own good bowling performances.

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