IPL 2020 Highlights, KKR vs RCB Match, Full Cricket Score: Kohli, Gurkeerat guide Bangalore to comfortable eight-wicket win over Kolkata

Man of the Match, Mohammed Siraj: Really glad that Virat handed me the new ball. Just as we stepped onto the field, Kohli asked me to get ready. I have worked hard on my bowling. The ball that dismissed Nitish Rana was the best for me. The team environment’s really good, everyone’s getting into the act.

Virat Kohli, RCB captain: (Late decision to give Siraj the new ball?) It was to be honest. I was thinking of Washi. The surface looked drier, and it was a good toss to lose. It looked like it had a bit of sheen as soon as the lights came on. Thought of letting him (Siraj) set the tone. The management this time around has been able to create a culture of proper planning this time around. We have a Plan A, a Plan B, and that’s why it’s looking good. I don’t think a lot of people believe in RCB, but I do and the guys in the change room do, and that’s all that matters. You can have the best players in the world, but if you don’t have the belief, then you won’t see the results. (On Morris) He’s loving the responsibility, and he’s someone who loves to take the leadership role in the team. Never loses belief, and that’s contagious.

KKR captain Eoin Morgan: Being four or five down as early as we were is disappointing. RCB bowled well, but we should have countered that better. Ultimately, we didn’t have many runs on the board. With the dew in, we should have batted second.  Hopefully, Narine and Russell will be available for the next few games.

After 13.3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 85/2 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 21 , Virat Kohli (C) 18)

RCB register a comprehensive eight-wicket win over KKR to move ahead of MI to the second spot on the points table! Kohli collects the winning run with 39 balls left in the chase, which gives his side a massive boost to their net run-rate!

Kohli collects a brace off the first delivery of the 14th over, and then finishes with with a single towards third man two balls later to remain unbeaten on 18, with Gurkeerat batting on 21 at the other end.

After 13 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 82/2 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 21 , Virat Kohli (C) 15)

Kohli smacks a length ball from Ferguson towards the midwicket fence off the first delivery to get RCB within touching distance of the finish line. Ferguson, however, gives away just one off the remaining deliveries to finish with 1/17 from his quota — a quality performance that unfortunately few will remember.

FOUR! RCB just a hit away from victory now, as Kohli smacks this towards the midwicket fence off Ferguson! RCB 81/2

After 12 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 77/2 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 21 , Virat Kohli (C) 10)

Gurkeerat decides to accelerate in this over, collecting back-to-back boundaries off Chakravarthy, who bowls out his quota to finish wicketless for 28 runs. Single off the last two balls, with Kohli retaining the strike for the following over. RCB need just 8 off 48 balls.

FOUR! Gurkeerat gets down on one knee and slog-sweeps towards the square-leg fence to make it back-to-back boundaries off Chakravarthy! RCB 75/2

FOUR! Gurkeerat edges the ball wide of the keeper, the ball then running away to the vacant third man fence. RCB 71/2

After 11 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 67/2 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 12 , Virat Kohli (C) 9)

Ferguson’s not holding back in this over despite the match situation, surprising Gurkeerat with a sharp bouncer off the fifth delivery measuring 148 clicks. The pair stick to rotating the strike through singles in the face of some quality fast bowling, with three singles being added to Bangalore’s total in this over. RCB need 18 off 54.

After 10 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 63/2 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 10 , Virat Kohli (C) 7)

Chakravarthy continues on the other side of the interval, conceding nine off his third including a boundary each to Kohli and Gurkeerat. RCB need 22 off 60.

FOUR! Lofted drive over extra cover by Gurkeerat off Chakravarthy! There’s no one in that direction to cut this off. RCB 63/2

FOUR! Wide from Chakravarthy, and Kohli doesn’t hesitate cutting this square through the off side! RCB 58/2

After 9 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 54/2 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 6 , Virat Kohli (C) 2)

Gurkeerat brings up the fifty for Bangalore with a lovely drive through extra cover off the fourth delivery, with a single coming off each of the next two deliveries. Kohli retains the strike as the umpire signals the first timeout of the innings. RCB need 31 off 66.

FOUR! First boundary of the evening scored off Ferguson’s bowling, this one a superbly-timed crunched through extra cover by Gurkeerat, bringing up the fifty for Bangalore. RCB 52/2

After 8 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 48/2 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 1 , Virat Kohli (C) 1)

The fall of wickets in the previous over does slow the scoring rate down for Bangalore, with just tow runs coming off Chakravarthy’s second. Kohli, won’t mind that however, with plenty of overs at their disposal. RCB need 37 off 72.

After 7 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 46/2 ( Gurkeerat Singh Mann 0 , Virat Kohli (C) 0)

Ferguson finally brought into play in the seventh over of the innings and he makes an impact right away as Finch nicks the ball to the keeper to depart for a 21-ball 16. Gurkeerat Singh Mann, meanwhile, is sent out to bat, and he gets involved in a mix-up with Padikkal right away that results in the latter getting run-out for 25. Two new batsmen at the crease right now, and even though Bangalore are firm favourites to chase this with ease, needing 39 off 78, another wicket or two might just see this game stretch all the way to the slog overs.

OUT! And now Padikkal departs for an attacking 25, getting involved in a mix-up with partner Gurkeerat! Kohli sure doesn’t look the happiest as he walks out to bat. RCB 46/2

Padikkal run out (Cummins) 25(17)

OUT! Did Morgan miss a trick by not introducing Ferguson earlier in the innings! The Black Caps pacer gets the ball to angle rather sharply into the batsman, getting the outside edge that results in the simplest of chances for Karthik. Finch’s innings comes to an end! RCB 46/1

Finch c Karthik b Ferguson 16(21)

After 6 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 44/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 24 , Aaron Finch 16)

Varun Chakravarthy’s brought into the attack in the final over of the powerplay, with Morgan opting to hold Lockie Ferguson back for some reason. Seven off the over, including a third boundary to Padikkal off the third delivery. RCB need 41 off 84 balls.

FOUR! Padikkal cuts the ball hard and beats the diving fielder at point! Chakravarthy concedes a boundary off his third delivery of the day. RCB 43/0

After 5 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 37/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 18 , Aaron Finch 15)

Finch spoils what was turning out to be an economical over from Cummins with a well-timed flick behind square off the last delivery. So far so good from the RCB openers, with Kohli and Co needing just 48 to win this with all 10 wickets intact.

FOUR! Length ball from Cummins, fellow Aussie Finch flicks this behind square, with fine leg failing to get to the ball in time. RCB 37/0

After 4 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 28/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 15 , Aaron Finch 9)

Big over for the Royal Challengers as Padikkal and Finch collect a boundary each, with Krishna leaking 13 from his second. The young southpaw certainly has looked the more attacking one so far, and will probably look to launch an attack with the fielding restrictions on for another couple of overs.

FOUR! Glanced away wide of short fine leg by Finch off Krishna! First boundary for the Aussie. RCB 28/0

FOUR! Another boundary for Padikkal, once again going for a lofted drive towards long off, as he moves into double figures! RCB 21/0

After 3 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 15/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 7 , Aaron Finch 4)

Cummins starts off with a wide in this over, and is hit for a boundary — the first of this innings — off the third as Padikkal launches a full delivery over mid off with a straight bat. Seven off the over.

FOUR! Finally a boundary for the Royal Challengers, as Padikkal launches the ball over mid off after getting one in the slot off Cummins’ bowling. RCB 14/0

After 2 overs,Royal Challengers Bangalore 8/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 2 , Aaron Finch 3)

Prasidh, replacing Mavi today, bowls from the other end and like Cummins, gets off to a tidy start, giving away four off it including a wide. Big appeal for caught-behind against Finch off the penultimate delivery, but the umpire’s not interested and Morgan’s not going for the review. An early wicket, however, will make this chase so much more interesting.

After 1 over,Royal Challengers Bangalore 4/0 ( Devdutt Padikkal 1 , Aaron Finch 1)

Both openers get going with a single each. Padikkal steers a full delivery in the direction of backward point, but the ball lands just short of the fielder. Cummins concedes four off his first over, two of those leg byes.

We’re back with the what should be an easy chase for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, unless the Kolkata Knight Riders attack is able to conjure up magic of their own. Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal walk out to the centre, with Pat Cummins bowling the first over of the innings.

Lowest totals for KKR in IPL:

67 v MI, Mumbai, 2008
84/8 v RCB, Abu Dhabi, 2020*
95 v MI, Port Elizabeth, 2009

Cheapest 3-plus wickets spells in IPL:

5/5 : Anil Kumble for RCB v RR, 2009 (3.1 overs)
3/8 : Dale Steyn for DC v RCB, 2012 (4 overs)
4/8 : D Smith for GL v KKR, 2016 (4 overs)
3/8 : Mohammad Siraj for RCB v KKR, 2020 (4 overs)*

After 20 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 84/8 ( Lockie Ferguson 19 , )

Morris into the final over of the innings. Yadav smacks the first ball towards deep mid-wicket for a boundary. Ferguson goes for the wild slog off the third but it goes in the no-man’s land and Ferguson manages to run a double. Kuldeep attempts a double off the last and gets run out in the process. 10 runs off the last over. KKR finish at 84/8. 

RCB need 85 runs to beat KKR. RCB have been phenomenal! Should a cakewalk for them to chase this down.

OUT! The last ball of KKR’s innings and Kuldeep runs himself out**. Kuldeep Yadav run out (Gurkeerat Singh/Chris Morris) 12(19)**

FOUR! Slower delivery from Morris and Yadav smacks it towards deep mid-wicket for a much-needed boundary.

After 19 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 74/7 ( Kuldeep Yadav 7 , Lockie Ferguson 14)

Siraj, the star of the night, is back for his final over. Ferguson and Yadav simply nudge the ball into the gaps for singles off the first three. RCB review for LBW against Ferguson off the fourth, but the umpire turns it down. Six runs came in that over, all through singles.

After 18 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 68/7 ( Kuldeep Yadav 4 , Lockie Ferguson 11)

Morris into his third over and the 18th of the innings. Ferguson sneaks a double off the second. He then defends a good length delivery and hits the ball towards mid on for a single off the fourth. Yadav fails to get off the mark on the last two balls. Just three runs off the over. RCB won’t mind singles and doubles.

After 17 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 65/7 ( Kuldeep Yadav 4 , Lockie Ferguson 8)

Chahal comes into the attack. Beats Ferguson off the first, the ball takes an outside edge and races away for a boundary. That apart, just three runs in the over. RCB bowlers are not taking the foot off the gas here.

FOUR! Unlucky for Chahal as the ball took an outside edge of Ferguson’s bat and raced away past the wicketkeeper for a boundary.

After 16 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 58/7 ( Kuldeep Yadav 4 , Lockie Ferguson 1)

Sundar into his final over. Morgan has been the lone warrior for KKR so far. Big responsibility on his shoulders, that of taking KKR to a respectable total. He sweeps the third for a four, plays the same shot off the next but it went straight into Gurkeerat’s hands at mid wicket. Six runs off the over.

OUT! Big wicket. Morgan is back in the hut. Went for the sweep again but handed a simple catch to Gurkeerat at mid-wicket. The party is over! Morgan c Gurkeerat Singh b Washington Sundar 30(34)

FOUR! Morgan sweeps it towards deep mid-wicket for a boundary.

Another record broken today!

KKR took 90 balls (15 overs) to score 50 runs today – the slowest in the history of IPL today. The previous record was 79 balls (13.1 overs) by KXIP against CSK at Durban in 2009.–

After 15 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 52/6 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 26 , Kuldeep Yadav 3)

Finally some pace in the form of Navdeep Saini. Starts off with a good length delivery measuring 140 clicks and Morgan steers it towards the off side for a single. Yadav, the new man in, is getting used to the pace here. He finally gets off the mark off the penultimate ball with a single towards sweeper cover. Morgan pulls off the final ball and the ball races away towards the square leg fence. Six runs off the over and we go into time out!

FOUR! Morgan swivels on his feet and pulls it towards square leg for a boundary. Much needed!

After 14 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 46/6 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 21 , Kuldeep Yadav 2)

Sundar into his third over. It was pace that got RCB the early breakthroughs and right now, it is trial by spin for KKR. RCB definitely in the driver’s seat here. Just five runs off the over, all via singles.

After 13 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 41/6 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 18 , Kuldeep Yadav 0)

Chahal into his third over. Tempts Cummins to go for the lofted shot on the third ball and the Australian falls into the trap as he hands a simple catch to Padikkal at long on. Just two runs and a wicket in that over. How far can Morgan take KKR from here?

OUT! Tempted Cummins to go for the lofted shot. It was slow and outside off. KKR lose their sixth wicket**. Cummins c Devdutt Padikkal b Chahal 4(17)**

After 12 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 39/5 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 16 , Pat Cummins 4)

Sundar into his second over. RCB review for LBW off the first delivery against Cummins, but it’s turned down by the third umpire. Beats Cummins on the third. RCB bowlers are playing with the minds of the KKR batsmen. A maiden over, how often have you seen that in a T20? Well bowled Washi!

After 11 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 39/5 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 16 , Pat Cummins 4)

Yuzi Chahal returns. Cummins defends the first before getting off the mark with a drive down to long off. Morgan nudges the fourth towards short fine leg for a single. Cummins returns the favour off the fifth and the over ends with a dot. Just three runs off the over.

After 10 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 36/5 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 15 , Pat Cummins 2)

Right, spin from both ends, as Washington Sundar comes into the attack. Starts off with three dots, all wicket to wicket deliveries. Cummins punches off the backfoot on the fourth ball for a single. Morgan gets on the backfoot and smacks the last ball towards extra cover for a double. Three runs off the Sundar’s first, he kept it tight as always!

RCB’s economy rate of 7.47 during middle-overs this IPL — the second best among all the teams.

Weakness against leg-spin

Five of Dinesh Karthik’s nine dismissals in IPL 2020 are against leg-spinners.

After 9 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 33/5 ( Eoin Morgan (C) 13 , Pat Cummins 1)

Yuzvendra Chahal, Virat Kohli’s go-to bowler for getting breakthroughs, comes into the attack. Tosses the first ball up and beats Karthik. RCB review for LBW off the fourth ball, Karthik is the man in question and the umpire has to return his decision. Karthik departs. KKR review for LBW off the fifth ball, this time Pat Cummins is the man in danger, and it gets turned down by the umpire, much to KKR’s relief. Three runs and a wicket in that over.

OUT! Chahal tosses it up, it was a googly too. It traps Karthik LBW and KKR lose their fifth wicket. RCB were right in their decision to review it. KKR are in serious trouble here.

Karthik lbw b Chahal 4(14)

After 8 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 30/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 3 , Eoin Morgan (C) 12)

Navdeep Saini into his second over. Starts off with four dots against Karthik. Pitching the ball in good areas is paying dividends, as we saw with Siraj, and Saini is trying to follow suit, it seems. Stump to stump line from till the fourth ball. Finally, Karthik flicks the fifth ball for a single off the fifth. Morgan pulls the final for a six towards square leg. Seven runs off the over.

SIX! Morgan plays the pull shot beautifully and it was no different on that occasion. The ball had just enough to sail over the jumping fielder at square leg.

Achievement unlocked!

Mohammed Siraj becomes the first bowler to bowl two maiden overs in an IPL match

After 7 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 23/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 2 , Eoin Morgan (C) 6)

Isuru Udana comes into the attack. Morgan gets off the mark on the first ball with a flick towards square leg. Morgan releases some pressure with a classy cover drive off the third. The England batsman attempts the same shot of the fourth, but a diving Kohli saves it on that occasion. Six runs from Udana’s first over.

FOUR! What a classy cover drive from Morgan. Talk about left-hander’s elegance. That will release some pressure.

After 6 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 17/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 1 , Eoin Morgan (C) 1)

Siraj, who has set the stage on fire, is bowling the final over of the powerplay. Karthik drives the first ball for single. Siraj bowls a good length delivery against Morgan off the second and it’s a dot. Morgan just itches to get off the strike and finally does so on the fifth ball. RCB are diving around, giving it their all in the fielding department. Just two runs off the over. Siraj’s good show continues!

After 5 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 15/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 0 , Eoin Morgan (C) 0)

Morris returns. Starts off with a dot ball measuring 140.6 on the off side. RCB take a referral for LBW against Karthik of the second ball, but it gets turned down by the umpire. Karthik, meanwhile, sneaks a single there. Morris beats Morgan off the penultimate delivery, the ball nearly taking the outside edge. Just one run in that over.

Did you know?

This is the first time that a team has lost four wickets inside PP overs this season.

After 4 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 14/4 ( Dinesh Karthik (W) 0 , Eoin Morgan (C) 0)

Siraj returns and picks up his third wicket of the night in the form of Banton, who edged it to the wicketkeeper. There was just a hint of away movement on that occasion and it was good length delivery. Keeps the remaining over tight too. Just one run and a wicket in that over, superb stuff from Siraj.

OUT! Banton departs. Siraj gets his third wicket, he’s on fire. Good length delivery, a hint of away movement and it takes the outside edge of Banton’s bat. Tom Banton c de Villiers b Siraj 10(8)

After 3 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 13/3 ( Tom Banton 10 , Dinesh Karthik (W) 0)

Navdeep Saini comes into the attack. Shubman mistimes the pull shot off the second ball and hands a simple catch to Morris in the inner ring. Then Tom  Banton announces his arrival with a majestic straight drive off the third. Banton ends the over in style with a pull shot towards square leg and that fetches him a four. 10 runs off the over.

FOUR! Banton swivels on his feet and pulls it towards square leg for the second boundary of the over.

FOUR! Banton announces his arrival with a majestic straight drive. Straight as an arrow!

OUT! Shubman Gill departs. He mistimes the pull shot and, in the end, it was a simple catch for Morris in the ring. What a start for RCB! Shubman Gill c Chris Morris b Navdeep Saini 1(6)

After 2 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 3/2 ( Shubman Gill 1 , Tom Banton 0)

Siraj comes into the attack. Tripathi defends the first ball, before going for a cover drive off the next which doesn’t earn him a single either. The ball takes the outside edge of Tripathi’s bat on the third ball and the right hander departs. Siraj breaches Nitish Rana’s defence on the next ball with an inswinger to the left-hander. Maiden over from Siraj, plus he made early inroads into the KKR top order.

KKR v RCB in IPL:

Matches played : 25
 

KKR won : 14
RCB won : 11

OUT! And now Nitish Rana departs. What an inswinger to the left-hander. Just a hint of swing and that was enough to breach Nitish’s defence. Siraj justifying his spot in playing XI here. Nitish Rana b Siraj 0(1)

OUT! Siraj with first breakthrough for RCB. Just angling away from Tripathi and took the outside edge of his bat. ABD isn’t going to drop those. Tripathi c de Villiers b Siraj 1(5)

After 1 overs,Kolkata Knight Riders 3/0 ( Shubman Gill 1 , Rahul Tripathi 1)

RCB’s pace spearhead Chris Morris with the first over. Starts off with a dot and then bowls a wide, way down the leg side. Strays on the pads on the and Shubman tickles it down to fine leg for a single. Tripathi defends a good inswinger on the third and rotates the strike off the next. Shubman plays the pull towards mid on before getting beaten off the final delivery of the over. Just three runs off the first.

Right then, Shubman Gill and Rahul Tripathi are out in the middle and will open for KKR while Chris Morris will take the new ball for RCB. Here we go!

Playing XI:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers(w), Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Mohammed Siraj, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kolkata Knight Riders: Shubman Gill, Tom Banton, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan(c), Dinesh Karthik(w), Rahul Tripathi, Pat Cummins, Lockie Ferguson, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy.

Captains at the toss

KKR skipper Eoin Morgan: We are gonna bat first. The wicket looks good. There’s been continuous improvement. Couple of changes. Tom Banton and Prasidh Krishna come in instead of Shivam Mavi and Andre Russell.

RCB skipper Virat Kohli: We would have batted first. It looks like a good pitch, shorter boundaries on one side. If you’re on the money, we can play good cricket anywhere. Mohammad Siraj replaces Shahbaz Ahmed.

TOSS UPDATE: KKR have won the toss and they will bat first.

“I expect that we will see good bounce on this surface. When you compare this with other surfaces, bowlers will extract the most bounce on this surface. There is an even covering of green grass, the surface is very hard as well​. Spinners will have to be more guileful – they have to try and mix it up well because it won’t spin that much.”

Darren Ganga and JP Duminy at the pitch report

Nicholas Pooran (53 off 28) came up with a blinder of a knock and Glenn Maxwell (32 off 24) finally found some form to set up KXIP’s five-wicket win over DC.

Post the win, KXIP skipper KL Rahul said their top-four batsmen must consistently close out games in the remainder of their IPL campaign. Besides, he was hopeful that Maxwell would come good in their upcoming games.

Click here to read what KL Rahul said

DC skipper Shreyas Iyer termed their five-wicket loss against KXIP as a “wake up call” and urged the batsmen to take more responsibility.

Rahul lavishes praise on Shami

Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul, meanwhile, is quite impressed with his senior pacer Mohammed Shami, who matched Jasprit Bumrah ball-for-ball in the Super Over against Mumbai Indians before sending down four economical overs in the win over Delhi Capitals. Rahul feels Shami has begun to understand his role as a senior pacer in the franchise a lot better, the results of which are visible in KXIP’s resurgence of late. 

“Faster, fresher, not afraid to get out”

Shikhar Dhawan entered the record books on Tuesday when he became the first batsman in Indian Premier League history to register back-to-back hundreds, although this time it went in vain as table leaders Delhi Capitals lost to Kings XI Punjab by five wickets. While the team might have hit a roadbump, Dhawan’s batting like he has never before, except maybe in an ICC tournament or two.

Dwayne Bravo ruled out!

Chennai Super Kings were dealt a massive blow on Wednesday when news came on of Dwayne Bravo getting ruled out of the remainder of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 due to a groin injury. Can CSK make the most of the remainder of the campaign, with the season already looking grim for them with seven losses from 10 games.

Here are the full squads of the two teams that will be locking horns in Match 39 later this evening:

Kolkata Knight Riders: 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

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 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

KKR hope to sustain winning momentum, RCB look to bounce back after defeat

After the highs and lows of Dinesh Karthik’s brief reign as Kolkata Knight Riders skipper, the franchise welcomed Eoin Morgan as the new leader of the side, with the Ireland-born Englishman starting off his captaincy with a victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in a game that went down to the Super Over.

The game should certainly give the team some confidence going into the match against the side that sit one place above them, with the Royal Challengers Bangalore looking to bounce back after a loss to Kings XI Punjab.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the 39th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) facing off at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The two sides are sitting next to each other on the points table at the moment, with Bangalore a step ahead of Kolkata at third with six wins out of nine games. Kolkata, who won their first match under England captain Eoin Morgan’s leadership on Sunday, can jump ahead of them if they are able to notch up a sizeable victory against the Virat Kohli-led side today.