Following a last-ball thriller at the Wankhede Stadium, Kings XI Punjab return home to the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali to take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Saturday. This will be the first meeting between the two teams in this year’s VIVO Indian Premier League.

Photo: SPORTZPICS

Aamne Saamne

The Shers hold the upper hand in the all-time head-to-head battle between these two sides, but the visitors were victorious in both games against KXIP last season. Those victories were largely thanks to Umesh Yadav, who finished with figures of 3-23 in his quota of four overs in both matches.

The Shers, currently in fifth, will be looking to reclaim their position in the top four and also avenge the two losses from last season when they host RCB on Saturday.

Batting De Badshah

After a slow start to his campaign, opener KL Rahul has hit his stride in the past five games, smashing three fifties and a century, his first in VIVO IPL, and climbing up the ranks in the race for the Orange Cap. Rahul will yet again be the lynchpin for the Shers and the team will be hoping that the Karnataka boy will smash another big one against his former side.

Despite his team’s struggles, RCB skipper Virat Kohli has been among the runs, but with just one fifty in six games, Kohli is yet to hit top gear this season. Irrespective of his form, Kohli is, unarguably, one of the best batsmen in all formats of the game and is as dangerous as they come on a cricket field.    

Bowling de Kings 

Following his extraordinary performance against a stacked Mumbai Indians batting lineup, pacer Mohammad Shami became the Shers’ leading wicket-taker this campaign and will be aiming for a repeat of his Wankhede heroics against another strong batting order. Shami’s discipline in the powerplay and his accurate yorkers in the death overs have troubled batsmen aplenty and the team will be hoping that Shami continues his rich vein of form against RCB.

Leggie Yuzvendra Chahal has, without a doubt, been the pick of the bowlers for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and is the joint-highest wicket-taking spinner in this edition of the VIVO IPL so far. With his ability to induce false shots with his flighted deliveries and an extremely effective ‘googly’, Chahal is one of the best T20 spinners plying their trade in the VIVO IPL.

Mudde Di Baat

KXIP and RCB currently reside on the opposite ends of the form spectrum, with the Shers aiming for an eighth straight win at home while RCB are looking to curb a seven-game losing streak that commenced last season.

With a win, KXIP will continue to stay firmly in the hunt for a playoff spot, whereas a win for RCB will give them a glimmer of hope of making it beyond the league stages.

Yaad Rakhiyo

• No team has ever made it to the Playoffs after losing their first six games of a VIVO IPL campaign.
• Shami’s 3-21 against Mumbai Indians were his best-ever figures in T20 cricket.
• Rahul’s century in the previous game was his first in VIVO IPL, having already scored a couple in international T20s.

Probable XI

KL Rahul (wk), Sam Curran, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Hardus Viljoen, Ankit Rajpoot, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

With the extent of Chris Gayle’s back injury unclear, Sam Curran, who hit quickfire 20 against Delhi Capitals at the top of the order, could yet again open the innings for the Shers if the big West Indian is unfit to play the game. The Caribbean star could make way for Mujeeb as a result.

NOTE: The aforementioned line-up is an educated guess at best, and the final decision rests with the captain and the team management depending on various external factors.