Dream 11 IPL 2020, 39th Match
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) Played At Abu Dhabi On 21 October.

Brief Scorecard: RCB 85/2 in 13.3 Overs (Padikkai 25, Gurkeerat Singh 21*, V Kohli 18*) beat KKR 84/8 (EJG Morgan 30, LR Ferguson 19*, Mohammad Seraj 3/8, YS Chahal 2/15)
Player of The Match: Mohammad Seraj

Sometimes strange things happen. It was one such occasion at Abu Dhabi stadium yesterday when the race of two top dogs ended in virtual one-way traffic. Royals of Bangalore clipped the wings of Knight riders.  

KKR proved the Abu Dhabi wicket batsmen’s graveyard as they posted one of lowest ever score of IPL 84/8 batting first. Only Morgan (30) and Ferguson (19*) could show some guts and courage. 

Mohammad Siraj (3/8) in his four over spell set a new record. Chahal aided him taking 2/15.  That small target was far below a total to challenge formidable RCB batting. They cruised past it in a canter scoring 85/2 in 13.3 Overs. RCB remains at number two in the table. At least two teams are breathing on the neck of KKR. 

The wicket cannot be blamed. It was not such unplayable that KKR batting had to struggle and collapse like a pack of cards. Choosing to bat within the first power play KKR was unbelievably decimated to 4/14 by the fourth over. Shubman Gill, Tripathi, Rana and Banton perished. Even Karthik and Cummins could do little. It was the pace of Seraj (3/8) and spin of Chahal (2/15) that tremor KKR. 

Only Morgan (30) resisted a bit and at the fag end Ferguson (19*) tried to resist. Seraj achieved a rare milestone of miserly accurate bowling. 

Chasing an unbelievably small total can sometimes get tricky. But power packed RCB batting did not lose composure. Paddikai and Flinch adding 45 runs in the opening partnership cooled the nerves. RCB eased past the target in 13.3 overs scoring 85/2. 

KKR is still among the top four. But we are unsure how much mental scar such huge defeat left behind. At least two more contenders KKIP and RR are breathing on their neck in the rat race for top four. KKR must blame their own poor batting. Nothing is going right for Shah Rukh Khan’s franchise this year. They badly need some inspiration from somewhere. 

BDST: 1138 HRS, OCT 22, 2020
SMS