The 12th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 will be played between the two former champions – Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as they will be locking horns with each other at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. Despite playing their first two games at the high-scoring Sharjah Cricket Stadium, RR has managed to stay unbeaten so far.
Owing to the brilliant batting display from Sanju Samson and Steve Smith, the Royals have exceeded expectations with the bat, despite the failure of Jos Buttler. They will be worried about their bowling unit, although the pitch in Dubai isn’t as cruel to the bowlers as it was in Sharjah. RR’s bowlers will be facing stern challenge against the likes of Eoin Morgan and Andre Russell.
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Kolkata Knight Riders come into this match on the back of a comfortable seven-wicket win against SRH. Although Sunil Narine’s form with both bat and ball can be a huge concern for them, Pat Cummins coming back to form will also be a boost for KKR. It’s even-steven in the head-to-head record, with both teams having won ten games each in the IPL so far. KKR’s depth in both departments makes them slight favorites for this game, with Dinesh Karthik itching to get going in this tournament.
As the two sides prepare for a thrilling encounter, here’s a look at three key player battles to keep an eye on.
#1. Steve Smith vs Pat Cummins
In the absence of Ben Stokes, RR skipper Steve Smith will be playing a crucial role. He has consistently done well in IPL in recent times as he had amassed 472 runs with three fifties in 2017 and 319 runs, in 2019 against with the help of three fifties. This season he will have to be at his very best for the RR to do better.
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Smith’s battle with the Australian pacer, Pat Cummins could be an interesting one as the latter has been known for troubling one of the best of batsmen. Cummins would be confident after his comeback against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
#2. Eoin Morgan vs Shreyas Gopal
With every match-winning innings that Eoin Morgan plays, he manages to witness an increase in is fanbase. He played a mature hand in KKR’s win over SRH, finding his groove en route to his 29-ball 42. He will most likely face a stern challenge from the RR leg-spinner, Shreyas Gopal.
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The leg-spinner had a wonderful 2019 season when he scalped as many as 20 wickets at a strike-rate of 14.40, which featured a hat-trick against RCB as well. With his bag of tricks, Gopal has often been seen troubling some stalwarts like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. Most definitely, he would be looking forward to taking on the likes of Rahul.
#3. Andre Russell vs Jofra Archer
An attacking batsman against a fiery fast bowler makes for an intriguing contest. And KKR all-rounder, Andre Russell is among the most aggressive batsmen on the T20 circuit. He blasted it out in the last season of IPL, when he scored runs 510 at a strike-rate of 204.81. Even if he spends only a couple of overs at the crease, he can make the most of it.
But, the contest is like a double-edged sword. While fast bowlers have also been seen leaking runs in IPL 2020, they also have the capability of making batsmen look embarrassingly bad if they get their line and length right. Jofra Archer is nothing short of one of the most fearsome fast bowlers in IPL he has scalped 27 wickets in 22 matches at a strike rate of 19.07. He has performed against the best in the business and has made his mark with his guile.
