In Match 31 of the ongoing 13th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will lock horns with KL Rahul's Kings XI Punjab at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thurday.
Unlike previous season, RCB are looking a much balanced side as they have managed to impress with both bat and ball this time around. They are currently occupying the third spot in the IPL 2020 points table with five wins from seven matches they have played so far.
Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, are languishing down at the bottom of the standings with just one win from seven matches despite some really good performances by their openers. KXIP skipper-cum-opener KL Rahul and opening batsman Mayank Agarwal are occupying the top two spots in the Orange Cap table with 387 and 337 runs, respectively in seven innings they have played so far.
RCB are coming into the clash after clinching back-to-back five victories and will look to continue their winning streak against the KL Rahul-led side.
KXIP, on the other hand, will look to break their losing streak as they seek a much-needed move up the points table with a win over the RCB. Meanwhile, another lose for KXIP will make their progress into the playoffs only on mathematical possibilities.
Interestingly, Kings XI's only victory in the ongoing season came against the Kohli's side when they sealed a crushing 97-run triumph at the Dubai International Stadium on September 24. The Punjab franchise will look to take inspiration from that win and aim to register yet another victory against the RCB.
Meanwhile, Bangalore will be keen to shrugg off the last defeat against Punjab and settle the scores in the two teams’ second tie of the IPL 13.
Some of the players of RCB and KXIP will also look to achieve their individual milestones.
Bangalore skipper Kohli is just three sixes and six fours short of completing 200 sixes and 500 fours, respectively in the IPL.
RCB swashbuckling batsman AB de Villiers needs 48 runs to complete 4,000 IPL runs for RCB and three catches to reach100 IPL catches, while KXIP skipper KL Rahul requires 136 runs and 9 sixes to complete 2500 IPL runs and 100 IPL sixes,respectively.
As far as head-to-head record between the two sides is concerned, Kings XI Punjab hold a slight edge over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) heading into the upcoming clash.
The two sides have met each other in a total of 25 matches, with KXIP emerging victorious on 13 occasions and RCB winning 12 matches between the two sides.
However, the RCB have won four out of the last five encounters against the Punjab franchise.
When to watch?
The match between RCB and KXIP will kickstart at 7.30 p.m IST in the absence of fans amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Where to watch?
The clash will be telecast on Star Sports Network. Meanwhile, the live streaming of the match will also be available on Star’s streaming application Hotstar.
RCB vs KXIP, Dream11 Team Prediction:
Wicketkeeper: KL Rahul
Batsmen: Virat Kohli, Mayank Agarwal, Devdutt Padikkal, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers
All-rounders: Chris Morris, Glenn Maxwell
Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Navdeep Saini
Probable XIs:
RCB Probable XI: Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
KXIP Probable XI: Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (c), Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Glenn Maxwell/James Neesham, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, Mohammed Shami, Murugan Ashwin/K Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
SQUADS:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Dale Steyn, Umesh Yadav, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Josh Philippe, Parthiv Patel, Adam Zampa, Pavan Deshpande, Shahbaz Ahmed
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (c), Simran Singh (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Murugan Ashwin, Krishnappa Gowtham, James Neesham, Sheldon Cottrell, Deepak Hooda, Sarfaraz Khan, Hardus Viljoen, Jagadeesha Suchith, Ishan Porel, Tajinder Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Harpreet Brar
