IPL 2020 Match 39 – Kolkata Knight Riders Vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Preview

The 39^th match of the 2020 Indian Premier League is between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB are currently 3^rd in the table while KKR are in 4^th place, and this match is very crucial for both these teams to consolidate a top 4 position in the league table. Let’s preview this match from a betting perspective, with odds provided by LeoVegas India. 

Our Top Betting Picks:

• RCB to win the match @1.81
• RCB to hit the most sixes @2.00
• RCB to have the Highest Opening Partnership @1.80
• Lockie Ferguson to be KKR’s top wicket-taker @3.75

FAQ

History

The Royal Challengers are one of the 3 sides to have never won the IPL title, despite reaching the final twice. KKR, in contrast, have won the title twice before, in 2012 and 2014. These two sides have faced each other a total of 25 times, with KKR winning 14 of those matches, and RCB winning only 11. While KKR have won 6 of their last 8 matches, RCB trounced them earlier this season by 82 runs for an impressive victory.

Team News

RCB had a nightmare start to the tournament in contrast, being thrashed by KXIP by a mammoth 97 runs in their opening game. However, they bounced back well with impressive victories over Hyderabad and Mumbai. Virat Kohli finally delivered after 3 poor performances, and he along with the very impressive Devdutt Padikkal took RCB to glory against the Rajasthan Royals.

However, Delhi Capitals beat RCB by a huge margin after that. Kohli again hit top gear to hit a match-winning knock as RCB defeated CSK comfortably.  A vintage ABD blast got RCB another impressive victory over KKR, to put them 3^rd in the table. They lost bottom of the table KXIP, but managed to retain their 3^rd place in the league table. In their previous match, a 22 ball blast by ABD (55*) led RCB to an impressive win against RR.

KKR had a nightmare start to the tournament in contrast, being thrashed by Mumbai Indians in their opening game. However, they bounced back very well with impressive victories over Rajasthan Royals Sunrisers. Shubman Gill is back to top form now, but the most encouraging aspect of KKR currently is the brilliant form of their young Indian bowlers- Nagarkoti, Mavi and Varun, which makes them a very balanced side going ahead in the tournament.  They won their next game against Chennai with a narrow margin after a spirited bowling performance.

KKR then clinched a thriller against KXIP by just 2 runs, as captain Dinesh Karthik finally produced the goods to take his team home. However, KKR were hammered by 82 runs against RCB, and followed that up with another crushing defeat against Mumbai Indians. In true unpredictable fashion, they bounced back straight away with an assured display against SRH in the following match to win their 5^th match this season.

Betting Preview, Picks And Prediction

To Win The Match

RCB are the favourites to win the match with odds of 1.81 as per LeoVegas, which is not surprising considering they are in decent form of late, with 3 wins in their last 4 matches. KKR have been very unpredictable in comparison, winning 2 of their last 4 matches, and are 2.00 to win this match.

Top Team Batsman

Youngster Shubman Gill is again the favourite to be KKR’s top scorer in this match, as he is widely considered to be their most consistent batsman and played a brilliant innings in a couple of matches, and has odds of 3.75. Rahul Tripathi is now the second favourite at 5.00 to be the top scorer. England captain Morgan and fellow middle-order batsman Nitish Rana both have odds of 4.50. 

Captain Virat Kohli is the favourite from RCB to be the top scorer as he is now back in form, with odds of 3.25. AB Devilliers is 3.75 to finish as the top scorer again. He went berserk against the RR bowlers with sixes all over the pitch in trademark style. Youth sensation Devdutt Padikkal has been in brilliant form and is 4.00 to be the top scorer as per LeoVegas.

Highest Opening Partnership

RCB are favourites at 1.75 to have the highest opening partnership in this match. This is primarily because Devdutt and Finch have been brilliant as an opening pair, and have given RCB some steady starts throughout the tournament.

Top Team Bowler

Yuzvendra Chahal is the undisputed favourite to be RCB’s top bowler in this match, with odds of 3.25 after a wicket-laden tournament so far. He is followed by Christ Morris at 4.00, who finally made his much-awaited RCB debut and enjoyed a wicket-laden spell.

The most expensive purchase at this season’s auction, Pat Cummins is the favourite to be the top bowler from KKR at 4.00, followed by Lockie Ferguson at 3.75 and Sunil Narine at 4.50.

Total Runs In The Match

Odds of there being more than 333.5 runs in this match are 1.76, as per LeoVegas. This seems highly achievable as both these teams are known for their impressive batting line-ups, and can easily reach scores of 167 each, as required.

Individual Player Betting

• Shubman Gill to score more than 23.5 runs has odds of 1.87, which is also a tempting bet as he would like to continue his current form. Virat Kohli to score more than 30.5 runs has odds of 1.87, which is also a tempting bet as he would like to continue his current form.

• RCB to hit the most sixes has odds of 2.00, which is understandable as they have ABD and Finch, who prefer the aerial route more often than not. KKR to hit the most sixes has odds of 2.10, which can be tempting with Morgan and Russel in the squad.

• Lockie Ferguson to take 2 or more wickets has odds of 2.30 which is a given with his form, while Chahal to take 2 or more wickets has odds of 2.20, which is attractive as he can snap up key middle-over wickets.

Our Top Betting Picks

• RCB to win the match @1.81
• RCB to hit the most sixes @2.00
• RCB to have the Highest Opening Partnership @1.80
• Lockie Ferguson to be KKR’s top wicket-taker @3.75

Dream 11 Preview

Our Dream XI team for this match is top-heavy with 1 wicket-keeper, 5 batsmen, 1 all-rounder and 4 bowlers.

Wicket Keeper – AB De Villiers

ABD is RCB’s second-favourite to be the top scorer with odds of 3.75, and as the wicket-keeper now he guarantees additional points for dismissals as well. Hence, we have selected him over Dinesh Karthik in our squad.

Batsmen

Virat Kohli seems to be back in top form now, and is 3.25 to be RCB’s top batsman. Hence, we have captained him as we expect another top innings from him in this match. Finch is our second pick from RCB as he has been fairly consistent all season and can be very destructive. We also have KKR’s top 3 favourites to be the top batsmen, with Gill, Rana and Morgan, for a formidable lineup.

All-Rounders

We have 1 bowling-all-rounder from RCB for our squad. Chris Morris is very important with the ball and can also be very handy with the bat. He is an extremely valuable addition to our team.

Bowling

From RCB we have chosen Udana as our primary bowling pick. We also have the most expensive IPL player in Pat Cummins, along with his strike partner Lockie Ferguson, who was brilliant in the last game. Prasidh Krishna completes our line-up ast he budget pick.