1 year ago. New Delhi, Delhi, India

Kings XI Punjab keen to banish 'short run' memories as they face Royal Challengers Bangalore

#Kings XI Punjab #Royal Challengers Bangalore #IPL 2020

KXIP lost their opening match against Delhi Capitals after a super over
RCB won their opening match against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 10 runs
The head-to-head record is perfectly balanced at 12 wins for each side in their 24 encounters so far

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will be keen to banish the memories of a disappointing super-over loss to Delhi Capitals as they gear up to take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Thursday.

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A controversial decision by the square-leg umpire effectively led to KXIP’s defeat in their opening fixture against the Capitals. The umpire flagged Chris Jordan for a ‘short run’ during the 19th over, although replays showed the Englishman had grounded his bat beyond the crease.

Mayank Agarwal’s sublime knock of 89 from 60 deliveries was not enough to get his side over the line as batting collapsed, which saw KXIP lose five wickets for 25 runs crippled their chances of success.

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On the other hand, RCB will look to capitalise on their perfect start to the campaign and get a winning streak under their belt as they chase a long overdue maiden IPL title.

Virat Kohli’s charges were comfortable in their opening fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad as they went on to register a ten-run win.

20-year-old debutant Devdutt Padikkal played a starring innings, scoring an assured 42-ball 56 to give the ideal launch to the RCB.

He will be keen to cement his spot at the top of the order along with Australian limited overs captain Aaron Finch with another impressive performance against Punjab.

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AB de Villiers also looked in sublime touch as he went on to score a 30-ball 51 to help guide RCB to their opening day victory and along with skipper Virat Kohli, presents a major threat to any bowling attack.

Yuzvinder Chahal was the pick of the RCB bowlers as he took the important wickets of Jonny Bairstow, Manish Pandey and Vijay Shankar and will be the danger man once again.

The head-to-head record in this fixture is perfectly balanced at 12 wins for each side in 24 encounters so far, although RCB has dominated the recent record, winning four of the last five encounters with KXIP.

Royal Challengers Bangalore squad: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Parthiv Patel, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Gurkeerat Singh, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, Dale Steyn, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Isuru Udana, Moeen Ali, Josh Phillppe, Pawan Negi, Pavan Deshpande, Mohammad Siraj, Umesh Yadav.

Kings XI Punjab squad: KL Rahul (c), Mayank Agarwal, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Shami, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Karun Nair, James Neesham, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Ishan Porel, Arshdeep Singh, Murugan Ashwin, Krishnappa Gowtham, Harpreet Brar, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Simran Singh (wk), Jagadeesha Suchith, Tajinder Singh, Hardus Viljoen.

#Kings XI Punjab #Royal Challengers Bangalore #IPL 2020 #KL Rahul #Virat Kohli #Cricket #Sports

Kings XI Punjab keen to banish 'short run' memories as they face Royal Challengers Bangalore

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