Kings XI Punjab head to the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday to take on a resurgent Royal Challengers Bangalore outfit, in a fixture that could prove to be of great significance for both these teams’ bids to make it to the playoffs.

Aamne Saamne

The Shers hold the edge in the all-time head-to-head between the two teams, but in their previous meeting earlier in the campaign, it was RCB who came out on top owing to brilliant knocks from skipper Virat Kohli and AB De Villiers.  

Batting De Badshah

The Universe Boss has lived up to his name this season and has needed only nine innings to score 400 runs for the campaign. His season-high of 99* came against our next opponents - and his former side - in a losing cause and Gayle would be eager to go one better at his favorite hunting ground.

Just like his team, skipper Virat Kohli has also had an upturn in his batting form and is closing in on another campaign with over 400 runs for the season. Kohli has scored 309 runs in his last six innings, which includes his fifth VIVO Indian Premier League ton.

Bowling De Kings

Having already surpassed his previous highest wickets tally in a season, Mohammad Shami has led the KXIP bowling attack to great effect this campaign. With his consistent line and his ability to swing the ball both ways with the new ball alongside his perfectly executed yorkers in the death overs, Shami will yet again be the spearhead of the Shers’ bowling attack at a ground that is infamous for being batting-friendly.   

On the other hand, leggie Yuzvendra Chahal has been a consistent performer for RCB with the ball in hand and has gotten crucial breakthrough for his team in almost all of their matches so far. His flighted deliveries couple with his ability to turn the ball sharply make him extremely difficult to read and his outstanding record at the Chinnaswamy Stadium further demonstrates his great knowledge of a wicket that isn’t typically known to assist spinners.

Mudde Di Baat

For RCB, every game is a must-win to make it to the playoffs. For the Shers, it is crucial that they gain some momentum, and points, heading into the final week of the league stages and breakaway from the tight midfield pack and enter the top four in the standings.

Neither team can afford to lose this fixture, more so the home side, and has all the makings of a high-scoring, nail-biting contest.

Yaad Rakhiyo

• KL Rahul is just a run away from making it back-to-back seasons with 400 runs in the VIVO Indian Premier League for the first time in his career.
• Gayle has scored 1538 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, the most he has managed at a single venue.
• Gayle also has three centuries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, including a 175*, the highest individual score in IPL history.

Probable XI

Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, David Miller, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Mohammed Shami, Murugan Ashwin, Ankit Rajpoot.

With the Chinnaswamy Stadium generally being a batsman’s paradise, the Shers might opt to go in with as much batting firepower as they possibly could. The new ball, however, tends to assist bowlers who can get the ball to swing, demonstrated by Dale Steyn’s incredible impact, which plays to seamer Ankit Rajpoot’s strength.