IPL 2020
Mohammed Shami delivered a great opening spell in the opener against DC. © BCCI
A controversial decision of a short or not, Kings XI Punjab are only to blame for failing to squeeze the winning run into three installments in their first tournament, even with the bowler dishing out full shots. It is for the same reason that KL Rahul would demand a much better hitting show from his side against his former employers, the Royal Challengers Bangalore, in Dubai on Thursday.
The two teams may have a steven tying record of 12-12 head-to-head, but it is Virat Kohli’s team that has had the wood on KXIP, winning all four of their previous meetings. And with the promising starting form displayed by their higher order, RCB would like to take that rare win from the first game and turn it into a two out of two, rather than having to do unnecessary calculations on the business end of the competition. What spurs the competition a bit more is that they are up against a team with similar late-season running tendencies.
The brilliant hitting of Devdutt Padikkal and AB de Villiers concealed one of RCB’s apparent weaknesses: bowling. As good as Navdeep Saini and Yuzvendra Chahal were, his two new bowlers, Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav, proved too expensive for his liking.
They might consider turning to Washington Sundar in the power play for a quick fix. RCB has also been hampered by tension secondary to its multi-million dollar purchase of Chris Morris, who undoubtedly brings more balance to the bowling unit and lengthens the batting order. And that could be Josh Phillippe’s first chance to make a mark, who didn’t seem as comfortable keeping Chahal. However, his compatriot Finch has supported the young man to be the possible RCB finalist.
For KXIP, it was Mohammad Shami and rookie Ravi Bishnoi who kept the Delhi Capitals’ higher order in check, but some tasteless death bowls that allowed Marcus Stoinis to score a challenging goal by stealing 57 in his last three overs will need introspection. And for the conditions, KXIP might need to reduce a pacemaker and bring in an additional spinner to support K Gowtham and Bishnoi.
Can batting do without Chris Gayle? Probably not, based on the tests. But it was a collective failure of the bigwigs that disappointed them and if it weren’t for Mayank Agarwal’s effort that brought them so close, KXIP would have lost quite embarrassingly. However, Rahul’s leadership earned him praise, especially for some clever changes to bowling and field locations. A better bat show is all Punjab might need right now to open your account. What better chance than against a team with bowling emerging as their first weak link?
When: September 24, 1930 IST
Where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
What to expect: The winning captains of the draw have preferred to pursue in this terrain, a trend that could continue with the spray increasingly becoming a deciding factor.
Team news
Kings XI Punjab
Never mind the 68-run difference between their goals, the two KXIP starters were their best hitters in that narrow loss. However, a hitting program like that calls for Gayle to be included in the eleven, possibly in place of Nicholas Pooran, as Captain Rahul will still put on his maintenance gloves. One from Cottrell or Jordan could also make way for Mujeeb ur Rahman.
Probable XI: KL Rahul (C, wk.), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Nicholas Pooran / Chris Gayle, Sarfaraz Khan, Glenn Maxwell, Krishnappa Gowtham, Chris Jordan / Sheldon Cottrell, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami.
Royal Challengers Bangalore
Given that Morris is unlikely to be available, a win in his first tournament could be reason enough to resist the urge to play his XI just yet.
Likely XI: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Josh Philippe (week), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Dale Steyn, Yuzvendra Chahal.
What they say
“I think I can play whatever role is required of the team. That’s the most important thing, whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do my best to do it. Dev obviously got off to a great start the other day, so it was my job. just try to get him to go back on strike and let him continue to play really good and really aggressive. But there will be some days when that role is reversed and I’m going to start a bit like a midfielder and then our partnership is important again. I think my game It has probably evolved by playing more and more T20 cricket. You understand the roles and you understand the game scenarios a bit more. ” Aaron Finch about her opening role at RCB.
© Cricbuzz
