IPL 2018: DD v KXIP, Match 22 - Kings XI Punjab Predicted XI

Arguably one of the favorites to win this season’s IPL, the Kings XI Punjab are looking ominous in every department, especially with the resurgence of Chris Gayle. The Universe Boss blasted two fifties and a hundred in the first three innings he played this season. He looks hungry for more, which isn’t a good sign for any bowler.

Kings XI Punjab have a huge task cut out right now as they should ensure the momentum is not slipping away. There brilliant against the KKR, but they should be at their best to beat the Delhi Daredevils. Delhi has a brilliant unit on paper, but they’re lacking that cutting edge which makes the difference between winning and losing.

The Kings XI Punjab will be wary that batting is their strength and will be banking on their untameable top-order to go all guns blazing yet again. No changes are expected in the lineup as they aspire to continue the winning momentum. Here’s the predicted XI of the Punjab franchise.

Openers – Chris Gayle and KL Rahul

Goodness, gracious! The universe boss has well and truly arrived in the IPL. Chris Gayle is just a few runs short of Virat Kohli in contention for the Orange Cap and he has played just three knocks this season. He’s really proving to be the pick of the season for Punjab.

KL Rahul has been in outstanding form as well. The youngster is showing great consistency at the top of the order, something which we haven’t seen in the last few seasons. He is getting good starts and it is just a matter of time before he gets a big knock after his name.

Middle Order – Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh

Mayank Agarwal has been striking the ball well, but he needs to get a few more runs to ensure his position in the playing XI remains intact. Karun Nair is another player challenging for the number 3 spot and the Karnataka lad has been performing exceedingly well thus far. He played a couple of fantastic second-fiddle knocks already this season.

Aaron Finch got some runs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad and is looking very confident with his approach. It was always going to be a matter of time before Finch got going and this game might be his chance to show his class. Yuvraj needs to get up and running to save his place in the side.

All-rounders – Ravichandran Ashwin

Once again, Axar Patel might not feature in this game considering Feroz Shah Kotla is a very small ground. Which means Ashwin will be their only all-rounder yet again he might be batting at number 7 for the Punjab side. The skipper was brilliant with the bat against RCB and will be eager to score more runs given he gets a chance.

Bowlers – Andrew Tye, Barinder Sran, Mujeeb Zadran, Mohit Sharma

Andrew Tye found some rhythm against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he conceded just 23 runs and picked up two wickets. The form is very crucial in this format and the big Aussie signing is slowly getting into the groove. Barinder Sran will get another game for the side despite being expensive against KKR.

Mujeeb Zadran is proving to be a game-changer with the ball in hand. His variations and the extra pace are proving to be very difficult for the batsmen to pick. Mohit Sharma has been consistently performing well in the death overs and he might represent the franchise pretty much every game this season.