IPL 2018: Match 38, KXIP vs RR, Preview - Troubled Royals look for redemption in Indore

Punjab will look to get back their winning momentum

View : 347

2 Min Read

Kings XI Punjab
info
Kings XI Punjab team (Photo by Surjeet Yadav/IANS)

The break seems to have taken the winning momentum away from Kings XI Punjab (KXIP). They were not up to the mark and even some of their tactics were questionable against Mumbai Indians (MI). They will now face Rajasthan Royals (RR) who are also in the flux after losing the last-ball thriller to Delhi. Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore didn’t offer a flat deck the other day as there was some turn on offer for the spinners. However, the small dimensions of the ground would make sure it to be a high-scoring encounter again.

R Ashwin will have to be strict on their players as they looked jaded after a 7-day break and one cannot afford to be complacent in such a tournament. Things are getting extremely close in the tournament and the hosts will have to regroup as soon as possible and get themselves ready for this game now. It is all about momentum in the shortest format of the game and one good game should get themselves back at the top of the table. It will be also interesting to see if they make a wholesale of changes to their line-up.

Royals, on the other hand, are languishing at the bottom of the points table after starting the tournament decently. They badly need their overseas recruits to regain their form. Jos Buttler proved how dangerous he could prove when he gets going and they just fell short of the target by 4 runs in the chase against Delhi. Ajinkya Rahane himself has to lead from the front and take some tough decisions in selections as they need to win at least 5 out of their next 6 matches.

Toss: Kings XI Punjab have won the toss and have opted to field

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Jos Buttler(w), D Arcy Short, Ajinkya Rahane(c), Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Anureet Singh, Jaydev Unadkat

Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w), Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal, Marcus Stoinis, Manoj Tiwary, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Axar Patel, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ankit Rajpoot, Andrew Tye

Team Combination

Kings XI Punjab

Punjab might be thinking of handing the debut the star player from Kashmir Manzoor Dar in place of Mayank Agarwal who has struggled this season. Even Yuvraj Singh should make way for Manoj Tiwary after yet another disappointing show in the last game. He failed to score despite promoting him at number 3 by the team management. The rest of the line-up is expected to be same and the batsmen apart from Rahul and Gayle have to contribute.

Rajasthan Royals

Jos Buttler should continue to open the innings for Royals with Ajinkya Rahane assisting him. Ish Sodhi should replace D’Arcy Short to beef up the bowling attack which looked out of ideas against Delhi. More than the changes, the visitors need to play as a unit and look to compliment each other in every department. Even it is time for Ben Stokes to unfurl his all-round skills and prove his worth to the team. Sanju Samson too has faded away after a blazing start and it is time for him to put his hands up as well.

Yupp TV

Focus will be on

KL Rahul (Kings XI Punjab)

KL Rahul has wasted most of the starts after recording the fastest fifty of the IPL ever in their first game of the season. Though he has managed to give his side quick-fire starts along with Chris Gayle. He is too good a player to not play a big knock and should concentrate on taking his game a notch higher now. His strike-rate of 164.97 is even better than his opening partner but has only scored 292 runs in 8 outings. These numbers look good but not satisfying for the player like Rahul and he will be itching to play the waiting game this time around.

Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals)

Jos Butter showed his capability at the top of the order in the last game. He was given the license to tonk the ball from the word go and it worked wonders for him. He is expected to open again in this game and take the attack to the opposition bowlers up front. A lot will again depend on him and even he would be wanting to take his team over the line this time around.

Head to Head

Played- 15, Kings XI Punjab – 5, Rajasthan Royals – 9, Tie-  1 (Kings XI won the super over)

Stat Attack

6 – Team batting second has won all the 6 matches in IPL in Indore.

Broadcast details

TV– Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Jalsha (Bengali), Star Maa Movies (Telegu), Star Sports Tamil

Online– Hotstar & YuppTv

Match Timings: 20:00 IST, 14:30 GMT

For more cricket news and other stories, visit Crictracker.com.

Get every cricket updates! Follow Us:

googletelegraminstagramwhatsappyoutubethreadstwitter

Download Our App

For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS and Google Play Store