Abu Dhabi will play hosts to Match 39 of the Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 as Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will square off against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Wednesday.

Both the teams have played nine matches each in this season. While RCB, occupying the third spot in the points table have registered six wins, KKR have secured five wins and are currently on the fourth spot in the standings.

RCB are coming into this game on the back of their seven-wicket win against Rajasthan Royals (RR), which was sealed and delivered by AB de Villiers, who hammered an unbeaten 55 off 22 balls.

Coming to KKR, they overcame Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in a Super Over-finish. After Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan guided them to 163/5, Lockie Ferguson starred with the ball, helping KKR gain two points.

This will be the second occasion when the two teams face each other this season. In their first meeting, it was RCB who emerged triumphant on the back of an ABD’s 33-ball 73*. While they will once again look to secure a win, KKR will be out to avenge their loss and register their sixth win of the season.

With both the teams looking to continue their winning ways, here are the players who could make a difference to their team’s fortunes.

DK-Morgan duo

The former and current KKR skippers of KKR complimented each other and played a vital role in their side’s win against SRH. The two, as KKR batted first, put up a 58-run stand to take KKR past 160 against SRH and once again, were in the middle, as KKR sealed a Super Over-win. Both DK and Morgan bat in the middle order and will once again be responsible to guide the team.

The Virat-ABD combo

The two have been the pillars of RCB batting for a while now and in this season, the Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have scored 632 runs between them. While Virat, who has two fifty-plus scores against his name, has been RCB’s top run-getter with 347 runs, ABD, with four fifty-plus scores, has scored 285 runs. The two will once again hold the key for RCB’s success.

Lockie Ferguson

Playing his first game of the season, Lockie Ferguson set the stage on fire when KKR took on SRH. The New Zealand pacer picked up three wickets in the 20 over/side battle and then, while bowling in the Super Over, restricted SRH to 2, dismissing David Warner and Abdul Samad. Ferguson will once again be someone that KKR will bank on.

Chris Morris

Chris Morris has not put a foot wrong since his inclusion in the RCB playing XI this season. The all-rounder has picked 9 wickets from 4 games, including his four-wicket haul against RR, and on one occasion, he batted, he scored a quickfire 25 not out off 8 balls against Kings XI Punjab. Morris will be eager to continue his good run of form and guide his team to a win.

Chakravarthy vs Chahar

Varun Chakravarthy does not have any experience of playing international cricket. But, the KKR mystery spinner has managed to hold his own against some of the biggest names in world cricket during this IPL season. He will be looking to continue his good show with the ball. Meanwhile, Chahar, like so often he has done in the past, has shown a lot of heart. With 13 wickets against his name, he is RCB’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament and will be eager to add a few more to his tally against KKR. 

Stats

• KKR at this venue: Played 9, Won 5, Lost 4
• RCB at this venue: Played 2, Won 2

Approaching Milestones

• Eoin Morgan requires 2 sixes to complete 50 IPL sixes.
• Andre Russell needs 8 runs and 66 runs respectively to complete 1500 IPL runs and 1500 IPL runs for KKR.
• Rahul Tripathi requires 74 runs to complete 1000 IPL runs.
• Virat Kohli needs 1 six and 2 fours respectively to complete 200 IPL sixes and 500 IPL fours.
• Aaron Finch requires 58 runs to complete 2000 IPL runs.
• AB de Villiers is 2 catches away from completing 100 IPL catches.