Big picture
It’s Chris Gayle against the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Conditions apply, of course. Gayle’s Fitness Condition: He’s “fully recovered” as of October 12, but is he back in shape?
Conditions underfoot, too, with the place in Sharjah. Alright, so the field is not as good as it was at the beginning of the tournament, but the limits are still the same size. A Gayle error could still be six in Sharjah, so if your timing isn’t completely there due to your own rust or slowness of the surface, that might not matter.
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Many hoped Gayle would have played at IPL 2020 before this, perhaps as early as Kings XI Punjab’s second game, which was his first match against the Royal Challengers. With two games for both teams, Kings XI seemed poised for a great streak, while the Royal Challengers had tasted a major defeat that could have raised old doubts given how their last two IPL seasons had gone. But the tournament has changed beyond recognition for these two teams since that game. That win remains the only one for Kings XI so far. For the Royal Challengers, defeat was just a problem.
The Gayle-versus-her-old-franchise trope lends a fresh nuance to a rivalry that already has many subplots. Kings XI had been dubbed ‘Kings XI Karnataka’ before IPL 2020 began, with coach Anil Kumble alongside several prominent players hailing from the state. The Royal Challengers only have Devdutt Padikkal as a prominent “local” player. Additionally, the Kings XI have many former Royal Challengers in their ranks besides Gayle, including captain KL Rahul.
Rahul will have a difficult dilemma to resolve if Gayle plays. The West Indies hitter naturally fits at the top of the order, but so do Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, who have been forming substantial partnerships in this IPL. One of them will have to go down to number 3. He will also have to decide which foreign player to leave out for Gayle: go all out at batting and bring Gayle in for Mujeeb Ur Rahman, or trade with Glenn Maxwell. Neither Maxwell nor Mujeeb have been at their best thus far, and Kings XI will have to choose between going all-out and hitting in a spot that remains the most batting-friendly at this IPL, or giving themselves more bowling options.
The Royal Challengers appear to be well established and require no changes unless there are fitness issues.
In the news
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“I know everyone has been waiting for so long,” Gayle announced. “The wait is over.” Added this disclaimer: “unless something dramatic happens” again. But other than that, all indications point to Gayle playing.
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Maxwell has pointed to his ‘changing roles’ within the IPL franchises because of the disparity between his IPL record and his performances for Australia. He said he’s still getting used to being late for tickets and putting the finishing touches on what the higher order does.
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The Royal Challengers bowling has been successful this season, and Virat Kohli attributed that to good planning, meticulous preparation and a mindset. “If your bowling unit is strong, then you have a good chance of going deeper into the tournament,” Kohli said.
Previous meeting
Rahul achieved the highest IPL score of an Indian hitter, helped by two catches along the way, while the Kings XI posted a 97-run victory. However, the Royal Challengers bowling attack has since been renewed, with Chris Morris and Isuru Udana entering, in place of Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav.
Probably XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Aaron Finch, 2. Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers (week), 5 Shivam Dube, 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Isuru Udana, 9 Mohammad Siraj, 10 Navdeep Saini, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Kings XI Punjab: 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 KL Rahul (captain), 4 Nicholas Pooran (week), 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mandeep Singh, 7 Chris Jordan, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Arshdeep Singh
Strategy clearance
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Kings XI could be better served if Gayle opens with Agarwal and Rahul falls to No. 3. While Rahul is the tournament leader in scoring runs, his low hitting rate has hurt the team more than helped. Rahul has felt the need to “hit”, so he has taken a less risky approach. But if he comes after a good start, it could allow him to hit more freely.
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Mujeeb Ur Rahman has allowed 83 runs in eight overs in the two games he has played so far, but if Kings XI continue to show faith in him, it will be worth his playing the power game. Both Aaron Finch and Devdutt Padikkal, the Royal Challengers starters, have struggled with spin at this IPL. While Finch has a 146.00 strike rate against spin, he has also been fired four times in 73 balls faced. Padikkal has been fired only once, but his races against the effect at IPL 2020 have come to a hit rate of 105.66. He hasn’t pitched Padikkal yet, but Mujeeb has a good record against Finch overall despite not sacking him: Finch has faced 27 balls, but scored just 24 against Mujeeb.
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Nicholas Pooran has been Kings XI’s most dangerous hitter, perhaps, having managed his runs faster than anyone and with the range to dominate against any type of bowling. One possible matchup against him that the Royal Challengers might want to explore is Navdeep Saini. The fast bowler has thrown Pooran out three times on 23 balls, while Pooran has knocked him out just 21 runs. So keeping some Saini envelopes in the bank might be a good tactic.
Statistics that matter
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53.50 and 152.85. Those are Gayle’s numbers against the Royal Challengers overall. Of course, the overall numbers against the franchises mean little in the IPL, where the rosters change every season. But Gayle seems to like whoever wears the Royal Challengers colors.
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Washington Sundar’s economy rate at IPL 2020 is a staggering 4.9, this despite throwing half of his overs in the power play. It is the best economy rate in the tournament today, given a minimum of 10 overs.
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Yuzvendra Chahal needs two plots to get to 200 at T20.
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