IPL 10, Match 8, KXIP v RCB, Preview: Revamped Kings up against inconsistent Challengers

Royal Challengers might get the much needed AB de Villiers boost for the match.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore
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Royal Challengers Bangalore. (Photo Source: Twitter)

The Kings XI Punjab finally got back to winning ways after having had two embarrassing editions of IPL. They finished as the wooden spooners in the last two editions. Coming to the 2017 edition, KXIP had their homework done for the season. They made some smart buys in the auctions. They appointed Glenn Maxwell as their skipper and Maxwell responded well in the first match. The Kings registered their first win in the tournament as they beat Rising Puner Supergiant in their first match this season.

On the other hand, the Royal Challengers Bangalore have played two matches this season with contrasting fortunes. They have been an injury-hit unit and that saw them succumb to an embarrassing defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the tournament opener. In the next match they played, they managed to out stage the Delhi Daredevils in a close encounter. However, the match was far from being the complete show despite the win.

Their batting sans Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers looked bleak. Had there not been a certain Kedar Jadhav in the lineup, they would have crashed to another embarrassing defeat. They will now be against KXIP at Indore. There is news about the possible return of the RCB big guns. This is creating the big hype around the game. If the likes of Kohli and AB return, it will be a cracker of a game on the cards.

Toss: Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and opted to bat

 

Glenn Maxwell: Nice start. Started off with a win. Hopefully, we will carry the momentum. One change for us: Varun Aaron in place of Swapnil Singh.

Shane Watson: We are gonna have bat first. It’s great to see him (Maxwell) do well. He’s led well with the bat. ABD is back in place of Chris Gayle.

Focus will be on

Pawan Negi

Pawan Negi was a big attraction in the IPL last year when he was bought for a whopping price tag. However, his dismal show in the tournament saw him being released from Delhi Daredevils. He found a new team in RCB this season and got his first chance against the Daredevils. He bowled the crucial last over and dismissed the threatening Rishabh Pant. Earlier in the match, he had also shown glimpses of power hitting when he clubbed one in the death overs.

T Natarajan

The young bowling sensation from Tamil Nadu made a mark right away on his IPL debut. Natarajan had a very impressive stint at the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) this season. It was his heroics that earned him an expensive contract at the IPL. Having been drafted in the KXIP, he made his debut in the first match of the season for the team against Rising Pune Supergiant. He took the key wicket of Ajinkya Rahane on the day. He looked impressive and his resemblance to Mustafizur caught the attention of many.

Tymal Mills

Tymal Mills is yet to show his mettle in the tournament. He has been impressive with his bowling in the powerplays.However, when it comes to the death overs, he has not been as effective as he is renowned to be. He has the ability to bowl with sheer pace clocking over 150 kmph. In addition to that, he has a very deceptive slower ball in his armory. He holds the key to RCB bowling against a strong looking KXIP batting line up.

Team Combination – Kings XI Punjab

The Kings XI Punjab are likely to retain the same side for the match against RCB. They had putforth a very impressive show against RPS. Hence there is no reason why they should be tinkering with the combination. The top order looks good with Manan Vohra and Hashim Amla opening the innings. Wriddhiman Saha is a proven top order batsman in the shorter formats.

The all-rounder quotient is filled in by the likes of Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell. David Miller will be the fourth overseas player in the line up to complete the quartet. The bowling department will be the all Indian contingent. Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, and T Natarajan performed exceptionally against RPS and they will be expected to the same again.

Team Combination – Royal Challengers Bangalore

Stand in skipper Shane Watson had hinted at the possible return of AB de Villiers in the line-up for the next match. If ABD comes back to the setup, it will be a big boost for the side. He might come in place of Billy Stanlake. The opening has been a concern but it will be better for them to stick to the combination of Shane Watson and Chris Gayle.

AB de Villiers can aid stability to the middle order. Mandeep Singh has got starts but is yet to convert it to a big one. Kedar Jadhav was absolutely phenomenal in the previous match and had hit 69 runs in the match. The bowling will be spearheaded by Tymal Mills and there is a probability that they might try someone like Harshal Patel.

Playing XI:

Kings XI Punjab: Hashim Amla, Manan Vohra, Wriddhiman Saha(w), Axar Patel, Glenn Maxwell(c), David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, T Natarajan, Varun Aaron

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Shane Watson(c), Mandeep Singh, AB de Villiers, Kedar Jadhav, Stuart Binny, Vishnu Vinod(w), Pawan Negi, Iqbal Abdulla, Tymal Mills, Yuzvendra Chahal, Billy Stanlake

StatAttack

687 – Number of runs scored by AB de Villiers in IPL 2016 – the second most by an RCB batsman.

15 – Gurkeerat Singh Mann bowled with an average of 15.5 in IPL 2016 – the third best bowling average in the tournament last year.

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