The 28th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020, will be expected to be a high-scoring encounter between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday. Both KKR and RCB will look to continue their winning momentum when they face-off.
KKR and RCB have played some good cricket in the tournament so far and in all probability will be expected to play the same XI. Both sides are loaded with big-hitters and the captains of the franchises are in good form. However, KKR has a few concerns with Andre Russell’s injury and Sunil Narine’s suspect bowling action when they take on RCB on Monday.
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Knight Riders have started their campaign in the IPL 2020 on a high note with four wins in six matches. They are third in the IPL points table and will be fancying their chances of reaching the playoffs this year. RCB will in no mood of taking KKR lightly as the latter is also standing in the top-four position. Virat Kohli and Co will look to be on their best performance on Monday to consolidate their position in the top-four.
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Aaron Finch’s inconsistent form is the only matter of concern in what appears to be a team further balanced by Morris’s arrival. The new RCB management will vote for continuity and give the Australian limited-overs skipper a chance to get his form back at hospitable Sharjah. Barring late injury concerns, RCB should play the same team.
Probable XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
Chris Green is an almost like-for-like bowling replacement option for Narine if the Trinidadian gets rested by the team management. Green himself has undergone remedial work to fix his action recently but brings PowerPlay bowling smarts with him.
If the 48-hour turnaround is too little for Russell to shrug off his leg injury, KKR will be looking to included Tom Banton, but his IPL debut at the top of the order will come with collateral of having to sacrifice a batsman for an Indian bowler – possibly Shivam Mavi. Alternatively, Lockie Ferguson comes in, leaving the batting slightly compromised.
Probable XI: Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik (c&wk), Andre Russell*, Sunil Narine*, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Prasidh Krishna, Varun Chakravarthy
