Kings XI Punjab will be in chase of their first points of the Indian Premier League Season 13 as they take on Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Dubai International Stadium later today (Thursday).
The Kings XI Punjab in their last outing have ticked every dot right except for the last over of their chase against the Delhi Capitals. And, then they faltered miserably in the Super Over excitement to eventually gift the game to the Delhi combine. Universe Boss Chris Gayle was in the dugout, but not in the XI. The Kings would have missed him the most in the Super Over decider.
Kings XI might be tempted to put in Gayle as they take on a more formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore. The team management is also upset over the incorrect decision about a “short-run”, which TV replays have proved was a wrong call.
KXIP went on to lodge an appeal to the match referee over the incident but on Thursday, KL Rahul and Co would like to forget the unsavoury incident and focus on the task ahead
In contrast, RCB opened their campaign on a winning note defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs, raising hopes that things might finally fall into place for them this season.
Devdutt Padikkal started his IPL career on a classy note hitting a sublime half-century and will once again be in focus, while AB de Villers will also look to continue in the same vein following a crucial half-century
Both Kohli and Aaron Finch looked good on Monday night and would be itching to spend more time in the middle
Yuzvendra Chahal, as always, will be the key man in the RCB bowling attack. The leg-spinner was instrumental in his team’s victory on Monday, triggering a batting collapse
However, RCB will again miss the services of South African all-rounder Chris Morris who has picked up a side-strain. Morris was bought for a whopping Rs 10 crore at the auction
Umesh Yadav continues to leak runs in the IPL and going by his showing in the first game, he could be replaced by Mohammad Siraj. It remains to be seen if the team can fit in England all-rounder Moeen Ali in the middle-order. With Josh Phillippe being chosen as the specialist wicketkeeper-batsman to start with, Ali can only replace Dale Steyn in the eleven
For KXIP, Mayank Agarwal looked in imperious touch but was gutted to not be able to get his team over the line with just one run required to win.
Rahul, Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran will be expected to step up as they possess the ability to take away the game from any opposition.
Big hitters Chris Gayle, who was left out of the opener for better balance in the eleven, could be back and batting all-rounder Jimmy Neesham could also be given a chance
KXIP’s bowling is spearheaded by Mohammed Shami, who proved his high worth in the team’s opener.
Young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi will go into the game more confident, having impressed against Delhi Capitals.
Teams (from):
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (capt), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Glenn Maxwell, Krishnappa Gowtham, Chris Jordan, Sheldon Cottrell, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Hardus Viljoen, Ishan Porel, Tajinder Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Arshdeep Singh, Simran Singh, Harpreet Brar, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Mandeep Singh, James Neesham, Jagadeesha Suchith, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikal, Virat Kohli (capt), AB de Villiers, Josh Philippe, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Adam Zampa, Dale Steyn, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pavan Deshpande, Mohammed Siraj, Shahbaz Ahmed, Parthiv Patel, Gurkeerat Singh, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana.
LIVE: The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 pm India time. The toss will take place at 7:00 pm. The fans can catch pre-match analysis on Star Sports network English, Hindi and regional channels from 6:00 pm. Fans on the move can catch all the action LIVE on Disney+ Hotstar.