IPL 2018: Virat’s RCB and Ashwin’s KXIP set to lock horns in a high-octane clash
Dec 23, 2018 at 4:54 PM
Here comes yet another big profile clash! The wounded-KXIP will host formidable Royal Challengers Bangalore at Indore. With the victory being the main aim and short boundaries on offer, one can expect a high-scoring thriller tonight.
Kings XI Punjab – Aims to get back on winning track
It has been two different stories thus far in IPL for Punjab. They wrecked havoc in the first half of the tournament but, after taking the break, they somehow lost the winning momentum to find themselves on the wrong side of the things. As they are coming from 2 straight losses in their kitty, they would like to come with all their guns blazing.
Apart from KL Rahul, none of the batsmen in the core unit showing their worth. The consistency of Chris Gayle is also an area of concern while the young guns, Mayank Agarwal and Karun Nair lost their touch with the willow when it mattered the most.
Aaron Finch is due to produce a match-winning knock while it is a high time for Punjab to find a right batsman in the middle order. The likes of David Miller and Kashmir player, Manzoor Dar is waiting for their chances.
Coming to bowling department, they have been wayward in their previous encounter and showed their heavy reliance on Mujeeb Zadran and Andrew Tye. The local bowlers need to pull up their socks by all means to counter the world class batsmen from RCB dugout.
Royal Challengers Bangalore – Would like to continue winning momentum
Yet another big hurdle makes its way to RCB. Virat Kohli-led side got into their own in their previous encounter and most probably, they would like to continue their winning momentum by all means. As the loss will be the end of the road, one can expect a quality show.
Finally, fans got the dream partnership of AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli in the previous encounter and they should once again carry the burden in order to make the merry of Indore conditions. With short boundaries on offer, RCB batsmen would be licking their lips to utilize the conditions.
However, bowling department once again showed a glimpse of their initial bowling display thus making things hard for Virat Kohli. Despite going for the runs in the previous encounter, Virat Kohli might continue with the same settled unit to tackle the flamboyant KXIP batsmen, especially, KL Rahul.
However, yet another cracking contest is set to make its way tonight. With a lot of star players set to take the field, an intriguing game is at the store.
Match Details:
Possible Playing XI:
KXIP: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Karun Nair, Aaron Finch, Manoj Tiwary, Manzoor Dar, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, AJ Tye, Ankit Rajpoot, Ben Dwarshuis
RCB: Parthiv Patel, Moeen Ali, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Mandeep Singh. Sarfaraz Khan, Colin de Grandhomme, Sarfaraz Khan, Tim Southee, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal
Pitch Report – Once again a high-scoring game is on the cards. Spinners might get a little assistance.
Weather Report – No rain is in the forecast. A perfect evening for the game.
Date & Time – 14th May 2018, 20:00 IST
Venue – Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore
Live Telecast – Star Sports Network, Jio and Hotstar Premium customers.