KXIP would, well and truly, remember that Rahul Tewatia did to them in their previous meeting.
Last updated: 29th oct, 2020 11:33 PM
Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) have turned out to be a brute force to reckon with in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The KL Rahul-led unit have won five matches on the trot and have moved up from the bottom of the points table into the top four.
In their previous contest, the Mohali-based franchise got past the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by eight wickets at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. In their next match, they will be locking horns with the Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Friday, October 30 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Pitch and Conditions
The pitch in Abu Dhabi has been an excellent one for batting and bowlers have indeed found it tough. The batters have made hay in the powerplay and in the death overs, they haven’t lost a whole lot of wickets either.
Chasing should be the way forward on the strip. The playing conditions will be warm with the temperature around the 29 degrees Celsius mark. The humidity will be in the 60s.
Playing Combinations for KXIP vs RR
Kings XI Punjab
Probable XI
KL Rahul (C & WK), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals
Probable XI
Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Steve Smith (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Ankit Rajpoot, Kartik Tyagi
Probable Top Performers for KXIP vs RR
KL Rahul– Kings XI Punjab
KL Rahul has been in jaw-dropping form in the ongoing edition of the T20 league. The right-hander is on the verge of 600 runs, having scored 595 runs at an average and strike-rate of 59.50 and 132.22 respectively.
He has been one of the primary reasons why Punjab have been able to make a comeback. That he scored a fifty in KXIP’s previous outing against RR would also give him confidence.
Ben Stokes– Rajasthan Royals
Ben Stokes was earlier getting starts, showing his class, but he wasn’t able to carry on and make them count. However, the England cricketer made amends scoring his second IPL ton since 2017.
He was again sent to open the innings for the Royals and he came into his own. Not only did he score a ton, but also stayed unbeaten until the very end. The southpaw can again be expected to weave magic.
KXIP vs RR Head to Head
Overall
Played- 20 |KXIP won- 9 | RR won- 11 | N/R- 0
At neutral venues (outside India)
Played- 4 | KXIP won- 2 | RR won- 2 | N/R- 0
Average first innings score: 165 (17 matches in IPL 2020)
Record of chasing teams: Won- 9 | Lost- 8
Broadcast Details
Match timings – 06:00 PM local time, 07:30 PM IST
TV – Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Select, Star Sports 1 HD, Star Sports 2 HD, Star Sports 1 Select HD, and Star Sports 1 HD Hindi.
Live Streaming – The match can be streamed online on Disney + Hotstar VIP.