IPL 2020: RCB vs KXIP Preview – Confident Bangalore face bottom-placed Punjab

Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore and KL Rahul’s Kings XI Punjab will take on each other at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in Match 31 of IPL 2020. Royal Challengers have 5 wins to their name, while Kings XI has a solitary win in the 7 matches. RCB are coming off a convincing victory against KKR by 82 runs, whereas Punjab lost by 2 runs in a close encounter to KKR in their last match.

This has been Bangalore’s best start to an IPL season since 2013. Kings XI Punjab, on the other hand, have had a pathetic run so far. The last time the two teams met this season, Bangalore were blown away by KL Rahul’s brilliance. Punjab defeated Bangalore by 97 runs. However, since then, Kings XI have lost all 5 of their matches, while Bangalore have come back strong with wins in 4 matches. It will be interesting to see how both the sides approach this game.

Match Info:

Match 31- RCB vs KXIP

Venue- Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Time – 7:30 PM IST

Head To Head:

Stat Attack:

If Chris Gayle takes the field against RCB, he will be playing a T20 match after 274 days.

AB de Villiers needs 48 runs to reach 4000 runs for RCB. He will be the first foreigner and only the 2nd player to reach 4000 runs for RCB.

Yuzvendra Chahal needs 1 wicket to reach 200 T20 wickets.

Team News:

Royal Challengers Bangalore:

Bangalore looks a lot more sorted now than what it was at the start of the tournament. They have sufficient bowling options, and Kohli looks a lot calmer and composed in his decision making. Many experts were awestruck with the way de Villiers batted on a slow Sharjah track. They would love to maintain this momentum and book a playoff berth for themselves as soon as possible.

Kings XI Punjab:

There is only a mathematical probability that keeps Punjab’s chances afloat this season. ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle has returned to the training camp and is likely to start in this do or die fixture for the Kings XI. Star-allrounder Glenn Maxwell has also talked about how he has a relatively clearer role in the Australian national side, where the chopping and changing of the team isn’t as frequent. They will have to replicate their performance the last time they played Bangalore if they are to survive in the league.

Probable XI: