Two teams which have had a contrasting season so far now collide at the Holkar Stadium, Indore in the 48th match of the IPL 2018. Royal Challengers Bangalore after a win over Delhi Daredevils kept their playoff hopes alive and with Kohli and ABD in such form, they will be itching to battle against KXIP. Punjab although safe cannot take any result lightly and will seek a win in every match after their loss against KKR. Here is how probable XI shape up
Royal Challengers Bangalore
The much-hyped side has fallen flat in the IPL at least. Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers were paler before the last match but in the match against DD, both scored 70-plus with a strike rate of around 200. The legendary duo is back in form and looks menacing.
In the last match against Delhi Daredevils, RCB bowled well in parts and were helpless once Rishabh Pant and Abhishek Sharma started bashing the ball high and long. Their chase began slowly and it was Kohli and ABD then who took them home.
In the last match, RCB brought in Sarfaraz Khan and dropped Manan Vohra. Sarfraz batted poorly and fielded terribly. He will be dropped again.
Playing XI –
Parthiv Patel (wk), AB de Villiers, Tim Southee, Virat Kohli (c), Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, Sarfaraz Khan/Manan Vohra, Mohammed Siraj
Kings XI Punjab
As Punjab takes the field the eyes will again be on the Universe Boss Chris Gayle. He failed to get going against Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. KL Rahul has batted brilliantly in the last three matches and has consistently scored fifty-plus.
In the last match against Kolkata, KXIP bowling was carted and they conceded the highest score in the IPL 2018. Apart from KL Rahul and Ravi Ashwin, no other batsman got in and they had to endure the loss.
The spot Punjab will again be worrying about is that of Mayank Agarwal who was out for first-ball duck. Ankit Rajpoot for Barinder Sran is also probable.
Playing XI –
Chris Gayle, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal/Manoj Tiwary, Mohit Sharma, Karun Nair, Lokesh Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Barinder Sran/Ankit Rajpoot, Andrew Tye, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
