Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will look to continue their winning streak while Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will be itching to break their losing streak as the two teams square off in Match 31 of Dream11 Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
RCB are on the third spot in the points table with 10 points against their name while KXIP are at the bottom of the standings, seeking a much needed move up the points table.
KXIP's only win this season came against RCB when KL Rahul set the stage on fire to set up his team's 97-run win and they will be looking to take a lot of confidence from that. RCB, on the other hand, will be eager to settle the scores in these two teams' second clash of IPL 2020.
With Chris Morris back into the side, the Challengers' bowling looks pretty lethal all of a sudden. The likes of Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, and Mohammad Siraj have all done in the recent respective matches. The bowlers did exceedingly well at Kolkata Knight Riders on a ground that had been a road to bowl on. However, bowling to an altogether different - perhaps more powerful batting lineup would be a bigger test for their bowlers in this upcoming match.
On paper, Royal Challengers Bangalore seem to be a pretty well-balanced team, especially with the way their bowlers have been doing. Historically, RCB used to be a top-heavy team, but that hasn't been the case this year. Having said that, their new-look bowling attack is still not tested at the death.
Their batting, on the other hand, seems to be fully equipped and is arguably RCB's stronger suit. Though they are reliant on ABD and Virat to do the most of the damage, there have already been cases in the tournament wherein the Challengers have done well despite either of those two not firing. The presence of Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, and Chris Morris adds depth to their batting order and Virat Kohli reiterated this by replacing Gurkeerat Singh Mann with Mohammad Siraj in the last match.
A five-day-long break would have given the management of KXIP a lot of time to ponder upon the gaps that they need to plug going forward in the tournament. We expect them to bring Chris Gayle into the playing eleven and his presence could be of colossal advantage on a ground with short boundaries. With the likes of Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, and Nicholas Pooran already doing well, Kings XI Punjab will have a terrific batting lineup if Chris Gayle does play in the upcoming match.
It has also been baffling to see KXIP take some unwarranted decisions. With 21 needed off 16 against KKR, they sent in Simrat Singh to finish the job with Glenn Maxwell available as well.
Kings XI Punjab's bowlers did well against Kolkata Knight Riders and looked hungry from the very first over. The addition of young Arshdeep Singh seems to be working to perfection for them. Arshdeep, bowling in tandem with Shami, was brilliant against KKR as the pair didn't give too many runs away in the first few overs. Ravi Bishnoi, as well, has bowled in a terrific manner in the last few matches and could be the bowler to watch out for in the upcoming match.
While the kind of defeat that Kings XI Punjab face can deflate even the best teams in the business, a long break is likely to have immensely helped them. It has been a difficult tournament so far for the Kings XI Punjab and they seem to be just losing the plot. They need a miraculous comeback to qualify for the playoffs from here. Kings XI Punjab have a terrific batting lineup, which could destroy any bowling attacks. They'd need to show more intent and hunger at the top and if they are successful in doing so, we might well see the resurgence of KXIP in the second half of the IPL 2020.
Weather Forecast
The weather in Sharjah will be hot and dry with aprtly cloudy conditions. The maximum will be 36 degrees and the minimum will be 24 degrees. It's going to be less humid compared to what has been the trend.
Pitch Report
The pitch in Sharjah is the flattest and basically offers very little assistance to the bowlers. But, as seen in the last two matches here, batting has gotten increasingly difficult. Even though the short boundaries have helped, timing the ball has been exceptionally difficult. It has been observed in the previous match that legspinners do get assistance while reverse swing could come into the equation. Teams batting first have won despite posting scores that have been lesser than 200. Any score above 200 will be above-par.
Toss Prediction
Sharjah is a difficult venue to set a total, the captain winning the toss here will be a bit reluctant to bat second here considering the results of the last couple of matches. We expect the captain winning the toss to keep the trend intact and elect to bat first.
Stats and Facts
Head to head: Matches Played: 25
Kings XI Punjab: 13
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 12
Approaching Milestones:
Virat Kohli needs 6 fours and 3 sixes respectively to complete 500 fours and 200 sixes in IPL.
AB de Villiers requires 48 runs to complete 4000 IPL runs for RCB. He also is 3 catches away from completing 100 IPL catches.
KL Rahul needs 136 runs and 9 sixes respectively to complete 2500 IPL runs and 100 IPL sixes.
Chris Gayle requires 16 runs to complete 4500 IPL runs.
Likely XIs:
Kings XI Punjab: Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (capt), Nicholas Pooran (wk), Glenn Maxwell, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, M Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (capt), AB de Villiers (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Mohammad Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal
Players to Watch Out For:
Kings XI Punjab: Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Shami
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Morris, Yuzvendra Chahal
Match Odds:
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1.66
Kings XI Punjab: 2.20
SantaBanta's Winner Prediction: Royal Challengers Bangalore
IPL 2020 Winner Live Odds
Mumbai Indians - 3.2
Royal Challengers Bangalore - 4
Delhi Capitals - 4
Kolkata Knight Riders - 9
Chennai Super Kings - 12
Sunrisers Hyderabad - 17
Rajasthan Royals - 29
Kings XI Punjab - 51
Match Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Time: 7.30 PM IST
TV: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Disney+ Hotstar VIP
