Kings XI Punjab v Royal Challengers Bangalore
24/9/20, 3pm (BST), Dubai
WINNER
KINGS XI PUNJAB – 11/10
V
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE – 8/11
Match Preview
The two teams suffered contrasting fortunes in their opening matches, with Royal Challengers Bangalore fighting back impressively with the ball – led by Yuzvendra Chahal – but Kings XI Punjab losing in a Super Over.
Mayank Agarwal displayed some brilliant hitting to get them there, but there are concerns over the death bowling and middle order of KL Rahul’s side – and their performance in the Super Over summed up their weaknesses.
RCB will be looking to improve with the new ball and wicket threat with the new ball, but Devdutt Padikkal announced himself in style with the bat and AB de Villiers showed he is still as good as ever with a 29-ball half-century and they should have too much in this match.
Our Prediction
Yuzvendra Chahal to take over 1.5 wickets – 5/4
The early matches in Dubai have told us that spin will have a huge role to play on the dry wickets and big square boundaries at the ground, so we are backing Chahal to frustrate the Kings XI batsmen and pick up crucial wickets in the middle overs.
Runs haven’t been easy to come by in the early matches so under 164.5 runs in the first innings looks to be a realistic bet, while the two opening partnerships of Rahul/Agarwal and Finch/Padikkal could be crucial.
The RCB duo in particular looked in great shape early on, so we’re backing them to make the highest score in the Powerplay at 4/5.
Top Run-scorers
KXIP | RCB |
Mayank Argawal – 89 | Devdutt Padikkal – 56 |
KL Rahul – 21 | AB de Villiers – 51 |
Krishnappa Gowtham – 20 | Aaron Finch – 29 |
Sarfaraz Khan – 12 | Virat Kohli – 14 |
Top Wicket-takers
KXIP | RCB |
Mohammad Shami – 3 | Yuzvendra Chahal – 3 |
Sheldon Cottrell – 2 | Shivam Dube – 2 |
Ravi Bishnoi – 1 | Navdeep Saini – 2 |
Dale Steyn – 1 |
PREVIOUS PREDICTIONS
MATCH | SELECTION | ODDS | RESULT | PROFIT |
Mumbai Indians v Chennai Super Kings | Kieron Pollard to top score | 13/2 | Loss | £0 |
Delhi Capitals v Kings XI Punjab | Rishabh Pant Player of the Match | 12/1 | Loss | £0 |
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Royal Challengers Bangalore | David Warner to score a fifty | 13/8 | Loss | £0 |
Rajasthan Royals v Chennai Super Kings | Lungi Ngidi over 1.5 wickets | 5/4 | ||
Kolkata Knight Riders v Mumbai Indians | Andre Russell to hit the most sixes | 3/1 |