Photo credit: BCCI/IPLT20.com

After a resounding win against Delhi Daredevils, the Lions from Kings XI Punjab have tasted blood, and are hungry for more! Travelling to the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to face Royal Challengers Bangalore, a win to keep the momentum going will be paramount for KXIP.

Aamne Saamne

Royal Challengers Bangalore 8-12 Kings XI Punjab

Batting de Baadshah

In just the one match that KXIP has played this season, it’s Lokesh Rahul who leads the run charts with that 51, that broke the IPL record of scoring the fastest fifty. With his proper cricketing shots, Rahul looked in tremendous nick.

In AB de Villiers, RCB has one of the modern greats, and his 44 in their first match against Kolkata Knight Riders was a potential sign of things to come further down the league. He might have put on a big score that day but succumbed to part-timer Nitish Rana.

Bowling de Kings

There was a lot of mystery surrounding Afghanistan’s young kid on the block, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and he lived up to it all on his debut. Picking 2 big wickets after showcasing the full range of his spin bowling, Mujeeb was impressive, and will be looking to do more.

RCB’s bowling attack could not stand tall to the might of the KKR batsmen in their season opener, but Chris Woakes was the silver lining. Though he went for 36 off his 4 overs, the Englishman picked up 3 wickets and showed why he is a good T20 player.

Over the past 10 editions of the IPL, KXIP has squared off against RCB on 20 occasions, and has gotten their number 12 times. With 5 wins at the M Chinnaswamy from 9 games, KXIP would be hoping that the stats are in their favour once again.

After a positive start at home, Kings XI Punjab’s aim would be to replicate that performance and result away from home as well against a dangerous RCB side. The Indian core looks good, and KL Rahul and Karun Nair’s form would be pleasing to say the least. With the ball, Ashwin and Mujeeb impressed on their KXIP debut, and the onus is now on Andrew Tye to show his T20 credentials.

Royal Challengers Bangalore might not have gotten off to a good start against KKR, but they will be eager to set things right in front of the home audience. With an explosive batting line-up at their disposal, it’s the bowling attack which will need to step up and warm up to the challenges at hand.

Yaad Rakhiyo

• KXIP has no less than five players in their roster who have represented RCB at some point in their careers.
• Chris Gayle is the highest run-getter in the KXIP v RCB fixture with 634 runs – albeit while playing for RCB.
• Of the players who are still a part of the RCB or KXIP squad, Yuzvendra Chahal has the most wickets in the tie – 15

Who could play?

KL Rahul (wk), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Yuvraj Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Andrew Tye, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Expect the team to be majorly unchanged after a good showing in the first match. Aaron Finch has finally arrived and could make his way into the line-up as a floater – capable of batting in different positions as the situation demands. There is also the option of Chris Gayle, who would be relishing the chance to go up against his former franchise.

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.