IPL 2020: Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore – KXIP Predicted XI
Sep 23, 2020 at 10:23 AM
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will play their second match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 against each other on September 24. Notably, both the franchise are still to lift the coveted trophy.
KXIP failed to win their opening match of IPL 2020 against Delhi Capitals albeit Mayank Agarwal’s brilliance. They failed to score one run in the last three delivers as the match was tied and finally, they also lost the super over.
In that match, KXIP’s middle-order problem was again exposed. The franchise roped in Glenn Maxwell to handle the pressure at middle-order but he also lost his wicket early against DC.
As the Punjab-based franchise move to play their second match, they would enter with the mindset to win that match. So, here we have discussed how KXIP playing XI might look like.
Openers: KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal
KXIP, coached by Anil Kumble, had entered with KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal as their opening combination in the last match. Chris Gayle, who had opened the innings for the franchise in previous editions, was not in the squad. His job of power-hitting has been given to the new captain Rahul.
Against DC, Mayank Agarwal was extraordinary. He fulfilled the role of anchoring the innings that Kumble had given to him. The right-hand batsman saved his wicket as the other end kept on losing their wicket at regular intervals. He amassed 89 runs off 60 balls, striking seven boundaries and four sixes. The calm and composed batsman almost took the team to victory but unfortunately, KXIP could not cash in the opportunity.
He would be expected to deliver a similar performance against Virat Kohli led RCB.
Middle Order: Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran
Karun Nair had a decent 2018 season for KXIP, scoring 301 runs in 13 matches but in 2019, he got only one match. But Kumble seems to give him more chances this season. He played the match against DC but lost his wicket after scoring just one run.
Nicholas Pooran and Sarfaraz Khan can be floaters between positions 4 and 6 with Glenn Maxwell.
Maxwell playing an outstanding knock in the last ODI match against England before entering the tournament. So, he would be expected to not disappoint the team.
Allrounder: Krishnappa Gowtham, Chris Jordan
Krishnappa Gowtham, who was traded from RR for this season, along with Chris Jordan will form a good bowling allrounder combination.
In the last match, Gowtham had also a stitched partnership with Mayank Agarwal to stabilise KXIP’s innings. He scored 20 off 14 balls, striking one six and one boundary.
Bowlers: Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami
Sheldon Cottrell showed promising performance for the team in the last match. He picked two wickets and was the economical bowler, giving 24 runs in his four-over quota. The Windies is likely to be retained in the XI.
The spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who is playing IPL debut season, had trouble DC batsmen. He scalped Rishabh Pant’s wicket which became his first wicket of the season. So, he would play a crucial role in dismissing the like of Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and other RCB’s batsman.
Mohammad Shami was in great form in his opening match. He picked up three wickets and gave only 15 runs in his four overs.