IPL 2020 Highlights, RCB vs KKR Match, Full Cricket Score: Bangalore hammer Kolkata by 82 runs, collect fifth win

AB de Villiers: I’m very happy with the performance, that’s all I can say. Very happy that I contributed, and I surprised myself out there, I must say. I knew the wicket was very tough to bat on, but I thought 130-140 wouldn’t be enough. Was very surprised with the total we ended up with. The boundaries are very small and you need to use every bit of energy available to try and keep the momentum going. I really just tried to keep the energy going with the boys. You have a very good view as a wicketkeeper. I’m really enjoying it. I do bounce off ideas to the bowlers from time-to-time as well. It’s different skills completely. I worked really hard leading up to this to ensure I’m up to the standards.

AB de Villiers is the Player of the Match for his unbeaten 73

RCB captain, Virat Kohli: Coming here, it was important to get the right start. It’s great to see individuals step up, Just the way Chris Morris bowled after coming in, Washi, Chahal too. This is one of our most comprehensive wins. Barring that one super human (AB de Villiers), everyone really struggled. The bowling coach has worked hard with us, there is clarity of plan. The intensity this time around is really good. If your bowling unit is strong, then you have a chance of winning. De Villiers hit the ball so beautifully, its only he who can strike late that. He’s dangerous and it was a special knock. We were thinking 160-165, but we got 190. We’ll have a run-down session of this match tomorrow. We just don’t want be complacent, want to be hungry and have that zing to win watches.

Largest defeats for KKR in IPL – by runs:

102 – MI, Kolkata, 2018
92 – MI, Port Elizabeth, 2009
82 – RCB, Sharjah, 2020*

Dinesh Karthik, KKR captain: (On ABD) He’s a world-class player, plays some great shots. The only thing that probably works against him is a yorker, anything else, he hits it out of the park. I think we need to sit down and make sure there are a few things we could do better. We have a break, so we need to start off fresh after that. If you get it easy, it’s not going to be IPL for you. (On batting first) We need to see as the tournament folds out how that goes out. Every captain has a day when things go wrong, but I don’t want to read too much into it.

After 20 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 112/9 ( Varun Chakravarthy 7 , Prasidh Krishna 2)

Udana is bowling the final over of the innings. Bowls back to back yorkers off the second and third. Good fielding effort in the deep on the off-side by Siraj, who saved a couple of runs there.

DONE AND DUSTED! RCB have not put a foot wrong here. They have beaten KKR by a huge margin of 82 runs. Comprehensive win this!

After 19 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 108/9 ( Varun Chakravarthy 5 , Prasidh Krishna 0)

Morris into the penultimate over of the innings. Gotta feel for KKR’s lower order, they have to face the pacers now. Morris removes Nagarkoti on the last ball. RCB have not put a foot wrong so far! Four runs off the over.

OUT! Inside edge, Nagarkoti looks to play across the line and the ball dislodges his stumps. Morris gets the breakthrough.  K Nagarkoti b Chris Morris 4(7)

After 18 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 104/8 ( Kamlesh Nagarkoti 2 , Varun Chakravarthy 3)

Saini into the 18th over of the innings. The match is in RCB’s pocket already. Virat Kohli and his men are giving their all in the fielding department. Not giving any freebies whatsoever. A referral for a catch off the final ball, Virat Kohli is the man involved, who dived to his front. But it gets turned down by the umpire. Five runs off the over.

After 17 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 99/8 ( Kamlesh Nagarkoti 1 , )

Siraj into the 17th over of the innings. Tripathi smacks the third ball over the covers for a boundary. Finally, Tripathi departs, but it was not much of Siraj’s wicket, Morris completed a stunning diving catch. Four runs off the over. Kolkata Knight Riders need 94 runs in 15 balls.

OUT! Chris Morris completes a fabulous running catch. Tripathi is the man who departs. Really, the batter had nothing to play for, except pride.  Tripathi c Chris Morris b Siraj 16(22)

FOUR! Tripathi goes over the covers for a boundary. KKR need plenty of these. KKR – 99/7

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 95/7 ( Rahul Tripathi 12 , Kamlesh Nagarkoti 1)

Chahal returns for his final over and the 16th of the innings. It has been trial by spin really as of now. RCB spinners have spun a web around the KKR batsmen. A double off Chahal’s second delivery, followed by a single off the next. These wont bother Bangalore much. Yuzi flights the final ball and Tripathi hits it towards him, but it just falls short. Five runs off the over.

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 90/7 ( Rahul Tripathi 9 , Kamlesh Nagarkoti 0)

Morris back into his third over. Tripathi picks up a single off the first and Cummins returns the favour off the third. Cummins mistimes a slog and it went straight to Padikkal at long off. Four runs off the over. Kolkata Knight Riders need 105 runs in 30 balls.

OUT! KKR are crumbling in the chase. This time Cummins is the man who departs. Mistimed slog and it’s a simple catch for Padikkal at long off. Cummins c Devdutt Padikkal b Chris Morris 1(3)

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 86/6 ( Rahul Tripathi 6 , Pat Cummins 0)

124 needed ahead of 42 balls ahead of this over. Udana comes back and Dre Russ smacks him for a four and a six, before hitting it straight to Siraj at mid-on. Surely, the game has gotta be sealed here, unless there’s a miracle.

OUT! See you later, Dre Russ! A yorker gets Udana the breakthrough. The burly Trinidadian went for the wild slog once again, but hit it straight to Siraj. The game’s sealed here, you have got to believe that, unless there’s a miracle. Russell c Siraj b Udana 16(10)

SIX! Russell smacks it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. Padikkal did well to get there but still fetches the West Indian a six. KKR 85-5

Four! Dre Russ swings hard and goes towards mid-wicket for a boundary. KKR 75-5

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 71/5 ( Andre Russell 2 , Rahul Tripathi 5)

Morris is back. Good captaincy so far by ‘King’ Kohli. Starts off with a dot. Tripathi nudges the second ball for a single. Padikkal puts in a fantastic dive, almost catches the ball at long on. Dre Russ was the man in danger. Catches win you matches! RCB will hope Dre Russ doesn’t add insult to injury here. Can you believe it? Just two runs from Morris’s over, at this stage of the game. And we go into time out!

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 69/5 ( Andre Russell 1 , Rahul Tripathi 4)

Sundar returns and removes Morgan, who slashed hard but found Udana at short third. RCB spinners are on fire here. Tripathi, the new man in, cuts the ball fine but Yuzi puts in a dive to save the boundary. Five runs off the over and Sundar finishes with figures of 2/20.

OUT! Morgan cuts but finds Udana at short third. Regulation catch for the Sri Lankan. Washington Sundar gets the breakthrough! Talk about spinning a web, RCB spinners are on fire here**. Morgan c Udana b Washington Sundar 8(12)**

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 64/4 ( Eoin Morgan 8 , Andre Russell 0)

Chahal is back for his third over. Removes Karthik on the third ball. Unlucky dismissal as the ball took an inside edge but RCB and Yuzi will happily take that. Dre Russ comes in just the 11th over and gets off the mark straight away. Morgan sweeps the fifth one, but just for a single. Russell happy to defend the last one. Top notch bowling from Chahal, just three runs off the over.

OUT! Inside edge, the ball goes on to dislodge the stumps. RCB and Chahal will happily take that. Remember, he was the man of the match in KKR’s last outing. Karthik b Chahal 1(2)

SR v leg-spinners in IPL:

Eoin Morgan : 114.0
Dinesh Karthik : 121.5

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 61/3 ( Eoin Morgan 6 , Dinesh Karthik (C) (W) 1)

Washington Sundar back for his third over and the 10th over of the innings. He’s bowling quicker through the air. Terrible mix up between the batsmen off the third ball and KKR lose Shubman. Morgan plays a lovely cover drive off the last ball, a boundary there. Seven runs off the over.

OUT! Terrible mix up between the batsmen and it is Gill, who has run himself out. Replays on the screen, but Gill was well outside the crease. How costly will this be? Shubman Gill run out (Udana/de Villiers)

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 54/2 ( Shubman Gill 33 , Eoin Morgan 1)

Chahal into his second over and the ninth over of the innings. Finch drops a sitter at long on, Gill was the batsman in trouble. RCB take a referral for LBW against Eoin Morgan off the second ball, but its turned down by the third umpire. The batters sense there is no need of a rash stroke and pick up singles from then on. Chahal again tosses up the final ball, Morgan goes for the slog, but can only manage a single there. Just three runs off the over, great bowling by Yuzi.

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 51/2 ( Shubman Gill 31 , )

Sundar into his second over. Keeps it tight on the first four deliveries, the batsmen can only manage singles. He’s giving no room to the batsmen to free their arms. Gill dances down the track off the fifth but it only fetches him a single. Finally, removes Rana, who was looking to go for the wild slog, but got clean bowled. Five runs and a wicket off the over.

Clean bowled! Rana, goes for the wild slog, but missed it completely. Super stuff from Sundar. Nitish Rana b Washington Sundar 9(14)

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 46/1 ( Shubman Gill 28 , Nitish Rana 7)

Yuzi Chahal, Kohli’s trump card, comes into the attack. It’s a nightmare for any leggie to be bowling at this ground. But Chahal is a crafty customer. Gill works the first one towards long on for a single. Rana returns the favour. Both were tossed up deliveries. Beats Rana on the fourth one, it was a flatter delivery. Siraj dives to his right at backward point and saves a couple off the fourth. Excellent over this, just three runs off it.

Sundar economy rate this IPL:

PP overs : 4.70
Middle overs : 5.12

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 43/1 ( Shubman Gill 26 , Nitish Rana 6)

Spin has been introduced in the form of Washington Sundar in the final over of the powerplay. Strange move from Kohli this, he’s probably looking to save Sundar’s tight spin bowling for the middle overs. Just four runs off the over, as expected from Sundar. KKR have managed 43 runs for the loss of one wicket at the end of powerplay. And we go into the strategic time out!

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 39/1 ( Shubman Gill 24 , Nitish Rana 5)

Siraj into his second. Strays on the pads on the second ball and Nitish Rana just too good to miss out on that one, gets a boundary. Then Gill smashes him four two fours. 16 runs off the over, costly one for RCB.

SIX! Gill cuts a rising delivery and it clears the fine leg fence with ease.

Four! Gill plays it on the up. A pull shot that races away towards deep mid-wicket.

Four! What a flick of the wrist. Pure timing there. Nitish Rana gets off the mark in style. KKR 28/1

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 23/1 ( Shubman Gill 13 , )

Saini steams in for his second over. Shubman backs away and clears the infield on the off side, a four there. Then Shubman gets off the mark, good rotation of strike here. Banton dabs the third ball in front of covers for a single. Barring that one four, no room on offer for the batsman till the end of the over. Finally removes Banton courtesy an inside edge that rattled the batsman’s stumps.

BOWLED! Saini steams in and he strikes. Clocks 148, the ball takes an inside edge and dislodges the stumps. Tom Banton b Navdeep Saini 8(12)

Four! Shubman backs away and goes over the infield on the off side. The margin for error is low, especially here at Sharjah. KKR- 20-0

Tom Banton has a SR of 159.4 in PP overs in T20 cricket

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 16/0 ( Tom Banton 7 , Shubman Gill 7)

Mohammed Siraj, right-arm fast medium, comes into the attack. He’s finally found a place in the RCB XI.  A beautifully bowled slower delivery off the second, that’s a dot too. Follows it up with a sharp bouncer to Banton. The England batsman gets off the mark off the penultimate ball and Gill returns the favour. Just four runs off the over, what a start!

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 12/0 ( Tom Banton 4 , Shubman Gill 6)

Navdeep Saini comes into the attack. Lot of responsibility on him too as RCB’s premier Indian speedster. Starts off with a wide. Then Banton plays the cover drive, but it only fetches the batsman a single. Gill targets the straight boundary off the fourth, but Saini did well to get a hand to that, only a single. Again, a wide off the last ball. Finally, a single off the final ball. Five runs off the over, good stuff from Saini.

After 1 over ,Kolkata Knight Riders 7/0 ( Tom Banton 2 , Shubman Gill 5)

Morris with the first over for RCB. Skipper Kohli will be delighted if RCB’s pace spearhead get can get them some early breakthroughs. Strays on the pads on the fourth ball and Gill flicks it for a boundary. Tidy start this, seven runs off the first over.

Four! Angling into the pads and way too easy for a batsman of his calibre as he flicks it away towards mid-wicket for a four. KKR 5-0

Shubman Gill and KKR debutant Tom Banton are out in the middle and will open for KKR while Chris Morris will take the new ball for RCB. The chase begins!

RCB today:

1-6 overs: 47/0 (RR – 7.83)
7-15 overs: 64/2 (RR – 7.11)
16-20 overs: 83/0 (RR – 16.6)

After 20 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 194/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 33 , AB de Villiers (W) 73)

Russell decides to challenge ABD with round-the-wicket angle, but that hardly stops the South African superstar as he hoicks the ball over long off for a six first up, followed by a steer towards the point boundary next up which is also a no-ball. Russell however, keeps things tidy for the remainder of the over as he gives away a couple of doubles followed by as many singles, as RCB plunder 17 off the last over to finish on a challenging score of 194/2 — made all the more impressive by the slow nature of the pitch that sure is to challenge the KKR batsmen! And in the end it was AB de Villiers’ genius that made all the difference for them!

FOUR! Full delivery from Russell as he sticks to his round-the-wicket angle, and de Villiers somehow manages to steer this towards the point fence for a boundary! What’s worse for KKR is that this is a no-ball! RCB 188/2

SIX! First ball of the final over, with Russell bowling a length ball outside off from round the wicket, and de Villiers smashes this over long off! RCB 183/2

After 19 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 177/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 32 , AB de Villiers (W) 58)

Kohli collects back-to-back doubles at the start of Krishna’s final over, before collecting his FIRST boundary of the innings with an edge that carries the ball through the vacant slip cordon. Single off the next two balls followed by a double off the last ball as 12 runs are added to the RCB score, with Krishna signing off with figures of 1/42.

FOUR! Finally a boundary for Virat Kohli today as he edges through the vacant slip cordon off Krishna! Lets out a loud “YES!” after the shot! RCB 173/2

After 18 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 165/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 21 , AB de Villiers (W) 57)

Dre Russ isn’t safe from ABD’s big hitting either as the batting superstar smashes a four and a six off the first two balls to bring up his half-century off just 23 deliveries! 17 off this over! Meanwhile, the current pair completes 3,000 runs in their partnership in IPL in this over, such has been their impact on the team’s fortunes for close to a decade now.

SIX! Length ball from Russell next up, and De Villiers goes big straight down the ground to bring up his half-century off just 23 deliveries at a stunning strike rate of 230! RCB 158/2

FOUR! No one’s safe at the moment from de Viliers’ lusty blows! Full toss from Russell, and de Villiers smashes this towards the midwicket fence for a one-bounce four! RCB 152/2

After 17 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 148/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 20 , AB de Villiers (W) 43)

Cummins returns to the attack for his final over, and starts off with two wides, before getting hit for a six and a four off the next two by AB — who’s breathing fire by now. The Aussie responds with a bouncer next ball, followed by a shift in his line outside off after noticing the South African get ready for a ramp towards fine leg, getting consecutive dots — gold at this stage and especially against these two. He however, errs in the following delivery, bowling a full toss that AB hits for a six to complete the fifty stand, before retaining the strike with a single off the last delivery. 19 off Cummins’ final over of the day!

SIX! After a couple of good balls, Cummins fires a full toss that gets appropriately smacked towards wide long on for a flat six! Brings up the fifty stand with Kohli with that shot! RCB 147/2

FOUR! Heaved towards the cow corner fence now by De Villiers! Kohli seems to have taken a backseat now and allowed his partner to hammer the bowlers all over the park! RCB 141/2

SIX! Down the ground for a maximum! This was full from Cummins and in the slot for Mr 360 to smash it over long off. RCB 137/2

After 16 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 129/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 20 , AB de Villiers (W) 26)

After three good overs, Nagarkoti gets hammered for back-to-back sixes and a four by AB de Villiers, who’s picked the young pacer’s final over to switch to beast mode in. 18 runs off this over as RCB’s run rate goes past eight.

FOUR! Fuller delivery from Nagarkoti this time down the leg side, and AB guides this behind square to end the over with a four. RCB 129/2

SIX! Back-to-back big hits for ABD as he’s decided to shift gears against Nagarkoti! RCB 125/2

SIX! MASSIVE! AB rocks back and clobbers this over the cow corner fence as the ball lands beyond the roof! Only the third six of the innings so far. RCB 119/2

After 15 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 111/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 20 , AB de Villiers (W) 8)

Chakravarthy bowls out a tidy final over, giving away just two singles and a brace to Kohli off his last ball of the day as he signs off with an economy of 6.25 at the end of his four-over spell.

After 14 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 107/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 17 , AB de Villiers (W) 7)

100 up for the Royal Challengers in this over as Kohli and AB run furiously between the wicket for the ones and twos, with eight coming in this over. The two are among the fittest in the modern era, and are quite the sight to watch in terms of their athleticism and communication.

After 13 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 99/2 ( Virat Kohli (C) 11 , AB de Villiers (W) 5)

Krishna’s back into the attack, and he gets smacked for a boundary first ball into his new spell as Finch takes a couple of steps forward and slaps this past mid off. Krishna however, hits back next ball by hitting the base of middle stump as the Aussie falls three short of his fifty. ABD sends out a warning to the KKR attack as he starts off with a boundary, followed by a single to retain the strike.

FOUR! De Villiers smashes this down the ground with full force! Such as the power on the shot that the ball actually ricochets off the non-striker’s stump before running past mid off, and all the way to the boundary rope! RCB 98/2

OUT! Finch misses out on his half-century by just three runs as he gets his middle stump rattled by a yorker from Krishna that angles into the batsman after starting from the off stump. RCB 94/2

Finch b Krishna 47(37)

FOUR! Slapped away wide of mid off by Finch off Krishna! RCB 94/1

After 12 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 90/1 ( Aaron Finch 43 , Virat Kohli (C) 11)

Another quality over from Nagarkoti as the pacer gives away just four singles off his second. He may have dropped Finch at short fine while the batsman was on 19 earlier in the innings, but sure is making up for it with his economical bowling at the moment.

After 11 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 86/1 ( Aaron Finch 41 , Virat Kohli (C) 9)

Single to Finch off the first ball, with Kohli keeping his partner on his toes as he collects a quick double off the next one. The RCB skipper’s beaten while going for a cut off the third, before tapping towards midwicket for an easy single off the fourth. A brace off each of the last two balls for Finch as the opener moves into the 40s.

After 10 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 78/1 ( Aaron Finch 36 , Virat Kohli (C) 6)

Kamlesh Nagarkoti introduced in the 10th over of the innings, with a single coming off each delivery, as the Royal Challengers reach 78/1 at the halfway stage of their innings after opting to bat.

Virat Kohli v KKR, last three IPL innings: 100, 84, 68*

After 9 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 72/1 ( Aaron Finch 33 , Virat Kohli (C) 3)

Big appeal for lbw against Finch off Chakravarthy’s bowling, and skipper DK decides against the review after a quick conference. Finch is beaten neck-and-crop off the third delivery while looking for a heave towards midwicket. Good over from the leggier as just three are conceded, including a leg-bye.

After 8 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 69/1 ( Aaron Finch 33 , Virat Kohli (C) 1)

Another chance spilled at the start of this over as a mishit towards long off by Padikkal lands just beyond the boundary rope despite two fielders converging at the spot. Russell, however, gets his man four balls later with a searing full delivery that flattens the middle stump! Virat Kohli walks in to bat with 67 on the board, giving him quite the cushion to get his rhythm at the centre before going for the kill. 11 runs and a wicket from the over.

Aaron Finch has been dismissed by spinners four out of six times this IPL.

Virat Kohli last three innings this IPL: 71, 43, 90.

BOWLED EM! Made a complete mess of the furniture, as Dre Russ, as Padikkal departs after a healthy start! Flattens the middle stump with a well-aimed full delivery, and that’s 300 wickets for Russell across T20s. Also time for a strategic timeout! RCB 67/1

Padikkal b Russell 32(23)

SIX! Wasn’t well hit by Padikkal, but he ended up sending this high up in the sky and towards long off. Two fielders converge, but neither is able to collect it as the ball lands just beyond the cushion. RCB 64/0

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 58/0 ( Aaron Finch 32 , Devdutt Padikkal 25)

Spin brought into play after the powerplay as DK turns to Varun Chakravarthy. Single off the first delivery followed by some good running between the wickets as Finch collects back-to-back doubles, with the partnership crossing the fifty mark. Misfield by Shubman at deep midwicket that results in a third four for Finch. Single off each of the last two balls. 11-run first over for the Tamil Nadu spinner.

FOUR! That’s a second misfield in as many overs as Shubman fumbles while picking the ball up near the boundary, touching the advertising cushion while trying to collect the ball in the second attempt. RCB 56/0

Fifty partnership up between RCB openers Finch and Padikkal off 38 deliveries, the former coming back for a second run off the second delivery after the conclusion of the powerplay to bring up the milestone. RCB 50/0

After 6 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 47/0 ( Aaron Finch 23 , Devdutt Padikkal 23)

Dre Russ brought into the attack in the final over of the powerplay, and he pulls out of his delivery stride rather gingerly in the first delivery. Starts off with a dot, followed by a couple of singles and a nasty bouncer that pings Finch on the helmet grille. Finch pulls another short ball towards fine leg, with the fielder inside the circle spilling the chance and allowing the ball to race away to the fence. Ideal start for RCB so far as they collect 47 from the powerplay without losing a wicket.

FOUR! Chance at short fine goes begging as the ball racing away to the fence for a boundary off the last delivery of the powerplay. RCB 47/0

After 5 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 41/0 ( Aaron Finch 18 , Devdutt Padikkal 22)

A much better over from Cummins this time as he restricts the two batsmen, who are batting quite beautifully at the moment, to the 1s, with four runs being added to the RCB total.

After 4 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 37/0 ( Aaron Finch 16 , Devdutt Padikkal 21)

Krishna starts off with a bouncer to Finch first ball into the fourth over, which gets a signal from the square-leg umpire. He has to pitch up in the next few deliveries, and Padikkal flicks one such ball towards cow corner fence off the fourth delivery. Makes it consecutive fours as he guides the next one towards long leg, before retaining the strike with a single off the last delivery. 10 off the over. Quite the start for RCB so far.

FOUR! Back-of-length from Krishna angling along the leg stump this time, and Padikkal works this towards long leg to make it back-to-back fours! RCB 36/0

FOUR! Krishna’s forced to pitch up after starting his second over with a bouncer, and Padikkal gleefully accepts the gift as he smacks the ball towards cow corner! RCB 32/0

After 3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 27/0 ( Aaron Finch 15 , Devdutt Padikkal 12)

Now Devdutt Padikkal gets into the aggressive act as he smashes back-to-back boundaries off Cummins, working both through the off side. The leading pacer responds with some aggression of his own, keeping the batsman on the backfoot with some short stuff.

FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries for Padikkal off Cummins, as he guides this through square on the off side with a cut! RCB 27/0

FOUR! Now Padikkal gets into the act, lofting the ball over cover to collect his first boundary of the day! RCB 23/0

After 2 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 19/0 ( Aaron Finch 15 , Devdutt Padikkal 4)

Prasidh Krishna steams in from the other end, conceding the first six of the innings as Finch smashes the ball out of the park off the fourth delivery. Single collected off each of the other deliveries. 11 off the second.

Finch in PP overs in IPL:

SR : 116.0
Dot% : 52.6

SIX! The first six of the day, and this one comes off Padikkal’s bat as he whacks this beyond the wide long on fence. Will take a while to fetch that! RCB 17/0

After 1 over,Royal Challengers Bangalore 8/0 ( Aaron Finch 7 , Devdutt Padikkal 1)

Aussie pacer Pat Cummins starts off with the first over of the day, getting flicked towards the cow corner fence off the second delivery by his compatriot Aaron Finch as the latter gets his side off the mark. Single off each of the next two deliveries. Cummins fires a steep bouncer at Finch just when he notices the Australia captain take a couple of steps forward. Brace to Finch off the last delivery. Eight off the first over.

FOUR! Finch gets the Royal Challengers off the mark with a lovely flick towards the cow corner fence off fellow Aussie Cummins’ bowling. RCB 4/0

JUST IN: Ishant Sharma ruled out of IPL 2020

STATEMENT FROM DELHI CAPITALS: Delhi Capitals fast bowler Ishant Sharma experienced an acute episode of left rib cage pain while bowling at a team training session on 7 October 2020 in Dubai. Subsequent investigations revealed that he sustained a left internal oblique muscle tear. This injury will unfortunately rule him out of the remainder of the Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020.

Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch walk to the centre along with the KKR XI and the two umpires as the 28th match of IPL 2020 — which marks the halfway stage of the league phase — gets underway.

RCB v KKR in IPL:

Matches played – 24
RCB won – 10
KKR won – 14

KKR have won five of their last six IPL matches against RCB.

Teams:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(wk), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Kolkata Knight Riders: Rahul Tripathi, Shubman Gill, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik(wk/c), Tom Banton, Andre Russell, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy

Dinesh Karthik, KKR captain: Baz told me it’s okay to lose the toss, so it’s fine. (Win over KXIP) That was a bit of a rabbit out of the hat. We just managed to pull it back in the last over. It’s important that the bowlers believe in two-in-two. We just kept believing, that one wicket would get us back in the game. (On Tom Banton) He’s a special player and he’s a superstar in the making. He replaces Sunil Narine today.

Virat Kohli, RCB captain: Pitch will get slower and slower and will wear out a bit. Good to get some runs on the board. The more you play on it, the more it will get scuffed up. We feel very confident with the way we bowled. Getting someone like Chris Morris in the side is a huge boost for us. The intent has to be there. Mohammed Siraj comes in for Gurkeerat Mann.

TOSS: Royal Challengers Bangalore win the toss, and skipper Virat Kohli opts to bat

Banton to make KKR debut today

Tom Banton has received his cap from England captain Eoin Morgan, and that is the one confirmed change that we have for today so far.

Here’s the analysis of the Sharjah pitch by Kevin Pietersen:

“The wicket, it doesn’t have the shine that we’re accustomed to. It may be playing a little bit slower. The RCB are coming here for the first game, and it’s quite important. It’s very Chinnaswamy-like, and the batters will be licking their lips. There was quite a lot more spin last game, and maybe a sign of the wicket. The seamers, they dug it in and bowled slower balls. Both teams will be looking at that. If you win the toss here, you can bat first and you can win, if you bowl first, you can also win. You’ve got to play smart.”

Here are the full squads of the two teams that will be in action in Sharjah later this evening:

Royal Challengers Bangalore full squad: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Mann, Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa, Dale Steyn, Isuru Udana, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Pavan Deshpande, Parthiv Patel, Joshua Philippe, Shahbaz Ahmad.

Kolkata Knight Riders full squad: Andre Russell, Dinesh Karthik, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kuldeep Yadav, Ali Khan, Lockie Ferguson, Nitish Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Warrier, Shivam Mavi, Shubman Gill, Siddhesh Lad, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Eoin Morgan, Varun Chakravarthy, Tom Banton, Rahul Tripathi, Chris Green, M Siddharth, Nikhil Naik

MI’s ability to click as a unit the secret to their success

Mumbai Indians find themselves on top of the IPL 2020 points table after their five-wicket victory over the equally-consistent Delhi Capitals in the second game of the Sunday double-header. In his analysis of the 27th match of the ongoing season, Gaurav Joshi sheds light on how Rohit Sharma and Co’s ability to click as a unit has played such a big part in their winning run in the first half of the season.

IPL on Pod

In our latest episode of IPL on Pod, we discuss some of the latest developments in the ongoing 2020 season, from Chennai Super Kings’ struggles to Royal Challengers Bangalore’s resurgence and Mumbai Indians’ consistency.

KKR mystery spinner Sunil Narine has been reported for a suspect bowling action. The team, however, has expressed surprise over this development. 

Click here to read more about this development.

Once again, it was Rahul Tewatia, who played remarkable knock in RR’s win over SRH. Don’t write him off, the five sixes weren’t a fluke!

Post the game, the left-hander said that he knew he could pull off a match-winning knock if he took the game deep. Click here to read more

It was a double header yesterday and Rajasthan Royals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by five wickets in the first clash, thanks to Rahul Tewatia (45 off 28 balls) and Riyan Parag (42 off 26 balls). Later in the evening, Mumbai Indians cruised to a five-wicket win over Delhi Capitals and became table toppers in the process.

KKR will have a lot on their plate when they take on RCB in an IPL match at the Sharjah Cricket Ground with their lethal weapon Sunil Narine blunted by a chucking complaint and fitness clouds hovering over enforcer Andre Russell.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of match 28 of the Indian Premier League between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR are third on the points table with eight points from six matches while RCB, who are just below them, also have eight points from six games, but Virat Kohli’s men are behind as far as the net run rate is concerned. Both teams were victorious in their last clash. Thus, it promises to be a cracker of a game. Stay tuned as we will bring you all the updates from the clash.