Can KKR avenge their loss? | IPL 2020 Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore: SWOT Analysis

It's the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in match 39 at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. We have all you need to know in our analysis.

The SWOT for KKR

Strengths: Eoin Morgan seems to have found his captaincy footing. He played Lockie Ferguson and Kuldeep Yadav against SRH and the two bowlers responded with healthy returns. Morgan should continue to innovate with his captaincy for the team to keep improving.

Weaknesses: The batting still has issues. Shubman Gill has hit just two fifties. Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Pat Cummins have one fifty each. Morgan and Andre Russell have not made a half-century yet. The batting needs to get much better before the play-offs.

Opportunities: Lockie Ferguson needs to continue his good form in this match and the remaining fixtures.

Threats: KKR need to put some points distance between themselves and the team in fifth place, which is currently the Kings XI Punjab. They can also equal RCB's points with a win in this encounter.

The SWOT for RCB

Strengths: The batting looks well settled. The top four of Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers have collectively got 10 fifties. They have also struck 41 sixes.

Weaknesses: The form of Washington Sundar and Shivam Dube with the bat is worrying. In RCB’s return fixture against KXIP, the two were promoted up the order but could not make an impact. Dube and Sundar are currently averaging 25.50 and 17.50 respectively. If the top order has an off day, they will have to take on the scoring responsibility.

Opportunities: RCB have not been able to do the double over KKR since 2015. With Bangalore's strong current form, this is their best chance.

Threats: Virat Kohli's muddled tactics could rear their head again.

Head to head:

Matches played: 26

Kolkata Knight Riders: 15

Royal Challengers Bangalore: 11

Last five matches (most recent first):

Kolkata Knight Riders: W-L-L-W-W

Royal Challengers Bangalore: W-L-W-W-L

What happened in the reverse fixture?

A stunning 73 from 33 balls from the bat of AB de Villiers propelled RCB to an 82-run win. The spinners played a starring role in grabbing wickets and keeping the KKR batters quiet.

Deccan Herald’s Dream XI

Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Eoin Morgan, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Lockie Ferguson, Shivam Mavi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Varun Chakravarthy

Team news

No injuries reported from either camp.

Playing conditions

The sky will be clear. The temperature will be around 27 degrees Celsius. The humidity will be about 65%.

Impact player for KKR

Lockie Ferguson: The Kiwi speedster made an instant impact in his first match with a superb spell of 4-0-15-3 against SRH. He was given the responsibility of bowling the Super Over and delivered the win. He bowls with pace and has mean bouncers in his arsenal. With Pat Cummins failing to impress so far, Ferguson will be the pivotal player.

Impact player for RCB

Chris Morris: In just four matches, he has reached the second-highest wickets tally for the team. He also has the best bowling figures for RCB. The RCB bowling attack looks revitalised with his presence. If RCB want to get the double over KKR, Morris has to bowl well.

How to watch

The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network. Viewers can also catch the action online on Disney+Hotstar. The match begins at 7.30 PM IST.