RCB vs KXIP Prediction, Dream11 Fantasy Cricket Tips: Playing XI, Pitch Report & Injury Update – IPL 2020, Match 31

Playing XIs;

Kings XI Punjab:

Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (c)(wk), Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Match Details:

The 31st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Sharjah.

This game is scheduled to start at 07:30 PM IST (06:00 PM local time) (02:00 PM UTC). The game will be telecasted on the Star Sports Network (Available in English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Bengali). Also, live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar.

Preview:

Halfway through the season and the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) won just one game thus far. Their only victory so far in IPL 2020 came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) – a side whom they have defeated by 97 runs. This, of course, was the 6th match of the tournament and we are already into the 31st match. The same two sides will compete once again with each other in the second half of the league.

Since this match, a lot has changed for these two teams. RCB are going strong with five wins in seven games and have turned the tables around quite drastically. KXIP, on the other hand, have come up with some appalling performances. They lost close games, experimented quite a bit with their eleven, brought up some disenchanting performances. However, they have to remember that they still have seven games left and still can turn it around. Starting from this game, they need to be at their best and can’t afford any kinds of slip-ups.

RCB vs KXIP Weather Report for Match 31:

It will be 32 degrees Celsius at the start of the game and the temperature will fall considerably as the night progresses. The humidity levels are also not on the higher side.

Pitch Condition/Report:

The pitch at Sharjah has got slower as the tournament has progressed forward. Hence, the average scores have come down. Chasing it a difficult task at this venue despite the shorter boundaries. Teams should look to bat first and get a total in excess of 190 or 200 here.

Average first innings score:

209 (Thus far at this venue in this tournament)

Record of chasing teams:

Won – 1, Lost – 5, Tied – 0

Injury and Availability News:

Chris Gayle has recovered from stomach infection and is likely to play this game.

RCB vs KXIP Today’s Probable Playing XIs:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Bench:

Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Adam Zampa, Pavan Deshpande, Josh Philippe, Shahbaz Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Dale Steyn, Parthiv Patel, Gurkeerat Singh Mann.

Kings XI Punjab:

KL Rahul (c), Mayank Agarwal, Deepak Hooda/Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Simran Singh (wk), Chris Gayle, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sheldon Cottrell/Hardus Viljoen, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh.

Bench:

Sarfaraz Khan, Harpreet Brar, Murugan Ashwin, Krishnappa Gowtham, James Neesham, Karun Nair, Deepak Hooda/Mandeep Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Ishan Porel, Tajinder Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Sheldon Cottrell/Hardus Viljoen, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Jordan.

RCB vs KXIP Top Picks for Today’s Dream11 Match:

After a duck against the Chennai Super Kings, AB de Villiers bounced back in the game against Kolkata Knight Riders with a fabulous 73 off 33 while playing at the same venue.

KL Rahul is the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 387 runs from 7 matches at an average of 65.

Mayank Agarwal has been going well for KXIP and has mustered 337 runs in the tournament thus far including one century and two half-centuries.

Virat Kohli has seemed to be in good touch with the bat in the last few games and has got 256 runs in 7 matches so far at an average of 64.

Yuzvendra Chahal has picked up 10 wickets in the tournament so far and gave away just 12 runs in the last game which was played at this venue.

Mohammed Shami is also doing well with the ball. The speedster picked up 10 wickets in 7 games and has an economy rate of 8.36.

Captain and Vice-Captain Selection:

Captain Options – Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers

Vice-Captain Options – KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal

Suggested Playing XI No.1 for RCB vs KXIP Dream11 Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – AB de Villiers, KL Rahul (vc), Nicholas Pooran

Batters – Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Deepak Hooda

All-Rounders – Chris Morris, Washington Sundar

Bowlers – Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi

Suggested Playing XI No.2 for RCB vs KXIP Dream11 Fantasy Cricket:

Keeper – AB de Villiers (c), Nicholas Pooran

Batters – Virat Kohli, Aaron Finch, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal (vc)

All-Rounders – Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube

Bowlers – Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Expert Advice:

Picking KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal in the same team is tough if you have Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers already. If you want to try that combination out, you can go for Prabhsimran Singh who comes at just 7.5 credits.

Today’s RCB vs KXIP Probable Winners:

Royal Challengers Bangalore are predicted to win this match.

Note: Updated Fantasy teams and Playing XIs of every match will be provided in our Telegram channel if the information is available.

Disclaimer: This team is based on the understanding, analysis, and instinct of the author. While selecting your team, consider the points mentioned and make your own decision.