At the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will play their third match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday (September 27). Ahead of the clash, the Director of Cricket Operation of KXIP Anil Kumble has warned that the bowling side needs to be more cautious considering the small boundaries of the ground.
Rajasthan Royals had already played in Sharjah where they registered a comfortable win against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 16 runs. Sanju Samson was the match-winner for them as he struck nine maximums in his 74-run knock off 32 balls.
Samson took advantage of the short boundaries of Sharjah and put the pressure on CSK bowlers. The wicketkeeper-batsman’s innings helped them to set the target of 216 runs.
The margin of error is very minimal: Anil Kumble
Ahead of the match, Anil Kumble has already warned the bowlers to bowl at the correct line and lengths to halt the batsman to play ariel shots.
In the recent interview, the former Indian cricketer said that the players had practiced in Sharjah but they need to bowl in good areas against RR. He said that the margin of error is very minimal because batsmen will enjoy batting there.
“All the players are aware of the boundaries, we have practiced here a few times in Sharjah. At the end of it, you need to bowl in good areas, if you bowl in good areas you still mean business,” felt Anil Kumble.
“It is something where batsmen will enjoy batting, so in bowling, the margin of error is very minimal, hopefully, we will be able to do that.”
Well, KXIP has shown that they can also set 200 runs target after their last match performance against RCB. With the help of KL Rahul‘s exceptional century, they had given 206 runs target of Virat Kohli-led side. Finally, they also went on to defend the target and won the match by 97 runs.
So, the match between RR and KXIP is going to be competitive.