IPL 2020, RCB vs KXIP: Preview, Dream11 and stats
Royal Challengers Bangalore face Kings XI Punjab in match number 31 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season. High-flying RCB look like a team out on a mission under skipper Virat Kohli this season. On the other hand, KXIP have struggled big time and the decisions by the management have been baffling. Here we present the match preview.
Virat Kohli-led RCB are third in the eight-team table with 10 points from seven games. Chris Morris' return has been a big blessing. He has already claimed five wickets from two games at an economy rate of 4.50. Kohli has found his form and the openers too are doing the job. With the ball, spinners Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal have been a treat.
KXIP lie bottom of the pile and one wonders how will they get up. The batting looks problematic with a lot on the shoulders of the openers, besides Nicholas Pooran. With too many changes, one doesn't know what's the role each player should have, There are too many holes in the KXIP set-up and coach Anil Kumble has been poor with his off-field decisions.
Dream11 team prediction: KL Rahul (c & wk), Devdut Padikkal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli (vc), Nicholas Pooran, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh. The match is set to start at 7:30 PM IST and will be telecast live on the Star Sports Network. One can stream the same on Hotstar app (paid subscription).
RCB - Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Md. Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal. KXIP - KL Rahul (c & wk), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Mandeep Singh, Krishnappa Gowtham, Sheldon Cottrell, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh.
31-year-old Kohli needs six fours and three sixes to register the mark of 500 and 200 respectively. Chris Gayle is just 16 shy of 4,500 career IPL runs (4,484). KL Rahul (2,364) needs 22 more to surpass the tally of Dwayne Smith (2,385). He can also equal Shaun Marsh's tally of 20 fifties. Head-to-head record: Matches 25, KXIP (13 wins), RCB (12 wins).
