IPL 2017 | Match 43 Preview : Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab

05/05/2017

It's curtains for last year's runners-up Royal Challengers Bangalore, who have lost nine out of 11 matches so far and are out of the race for a spot in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab, whom they host tonight, will look to seal a win to stay on course for a last four berth.

Kings XI require to win four out of the remaining five matches to secure a spot in the playoffs. Three wins could see them through if the outcomes of other matches go their way.

Head to Head:

Kings XI lead 11-8.

Last Meeting:

A stunning 46-ball 89 by AB de Villiers went in vain for RCB as Kings XI won comfortably when the teams met in Indore earlier this season.

Fan Predictions:

As part of the preview, we bring to you fan predictions for the talking points of the game. The predictions are sourced from the newest fantasy game on the block – Nostragamus. If you want to make your predictions and win prizes, click here.

Who will win?

KXIP holds an advantage of 11-8 in the 19 matches they have faced RCB in the IPL. In IPL 2017, KXIP have won 4 matches and Lost 5 whereas RCB are having one of their worst seasons as they have won only 2 matches and lost 8. KXIP are coming off from a brilliant victory against DD where they bowled out DD for just 67 runs. On the other hand RCB are coming off from a loss against the league leaders MI. With RCB struggling in every department and to find form, this should be an easy outing for KXIP. Hence we predict KXIP to win this fixture with ease.

Fans verdict: The fans are not with us on this one, as 58% think RCB will win.

Who will score more runs?

A. Kohli B. Amla C. Equal

In IPL 2017, Kohli has scored 239 runs in 7 games whereas Amla has scored 315 runs in 8 games. In the IPL overall, batting average - Kohli - 37.81 and Amla - 42.90. But this is Virat Kohli we are talking about and we sense a big score from him around the corner. Expect him to score big in this game against KXIP.

Fans verdict: The fans agree with us as 63% have predicted Kohli to outscore Amla.

Predicted XI:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers, Travis Head, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Sachin Baby/Mandeep Singh, Pawan Negi, Samuel Badree, Sreenath Arvind, Aniket Choudhary, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kings XI Punjab: Hashim Amla, Martin Guptill, Manan Vohra, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell (C), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Axar Patel, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma, Varun Aaron, T Natarajan.

Pre-match chatter:

"It has been difficult for guys to be able to motivate themselves but on that note we have sat and spoken about it. It has happened to a few teams. We didn't certainly expect to happen to us."- Stuart Binny, RCB all-rounder

"I still think RCB are a dangerous side. If you look through their line-up, all the way down, they've got match-winners everywhere. So we have to play extremely well tomorrow night. Put our plans in place. It's still going to be a tough game. We have to be on top of our game to take them down." - Martin Guptill, KXIP batsman

Venue: M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Time: 8 pm

TV Listings: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Set Max, Sony ESPN