RCB vs KXlP Dream11 expert team prediction full pass Kings will win today

 ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE VS KINGS XI PUNJAB
31ST MATCH PREDICTION

Oct 15, 202014:00

Sharjah Cricket Stadium - Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

RCB VS KXIP PREDICTION

Royal Challengers Bangalore To Win the Match, 1.66

Kings XI Punjab are coming off a deflating win, bouncing back after which is never easy for any team

Royal Challengers Bangalore have been in a rampaging mood in their recent matches and the recent experience of playing at this surface should play to their advantage

Kings XI Punjab are still searching for their perfect combination and they could be a bit vulnerable in the upcoming contest

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RCB VS KXIP MATCH PREDICTION & ANALYSIS

A five-day break is a luxury to have in a tournament as fast-paced as the Indian Premier League. Well, Kings XI Punjab would have thoroughly enjoyed their luxurious break of five days, but have an uphill climb ahead of them. The Kings from Punjab are almost in a do-or-die situation and will need to register a win in their upcoming contest unless they want to become the first team to be eliminated from the reckoning for the playoffs.

Their next assignment isn't easy, considering that they'd be up against a team that appears to be in a rampaging mood at the moment. Royal Challengers Bangalore, quite unlike them, are sitting comfortably in the top half of the points table and will rise to the top spot if they manage to win this, provided a couple of other results go their way. This is a high stakes encounter for both sides, more so for Kings XI Punjab, and a cracker of a contest is certainly on the cards. The fact that this match is to be played at the highest-scoring venue of the tournament - Sharjah Cricket Ground, Sharjah adds to the excitement of this match, which is to be played on Thursday, October 15, 2020.

TEAM PREVIEWS
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE

At precisely the same point in the last edition of IPL, Royal Challengers Bangalore were struggling to find their feet and had lost each of their six completed matches and stared at a glaringly difficult situation. The tables have turned this year and they have a relatively simpler task ahead of them. They can make that even simpler by winning the upcoming contest, but a loss as well, won't really hamper their chances unless they play extremely poorly from here. Having said that, complacency is the last thing that should creep into their skipper's mind and RCB are likely to come fully prepared in their upcoming contest as well.

With Chris Morris back into the side, the Challengers' bowling looks pretty lethal all of a sudden. The likes of Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, and Mohammad Siraj have all done in the recent respective matches that those players have played and the two recent-most results are evidence of that. The bowlers did exceedingly well at Kolkata Knight Riders on a ground that had been a road to bowl on. However, bowling to an altogether different - perhaps more powerful batting lineup would be a bigger test for their bowlers in this upcoming match.

While Virat Kohli found scoring at Sharjah Cricket Ground a tad difficult, AB de Villiers made batting look easy. It was only the innings of AB de Villiers that propelled the Challengers to a total of 194, which was at least a good 20 runs more than the par score. Devdutt Padikkal and Aaron Finch got RCB off to a decent start and the experience of having played at this wicket should be of immense help for the Challengers' opening pair. Also, we expect Virat Kohli to be better equipped to handle the slow nature of the surface. Although he managed to accelerate towards the end of the first innings against KKR, he could score only one boundary in his entire knock despite playing 28 deliveries.

On paper, Royal Challengers Bangalore seem to be a pretty well-balanced team, especially with the way their bowlers have been doing. Historically, RCB used to be a top-heavy team, but that hasn't been the case this year. Having said that, their new-look bowling attack is still not tested at the death and in pressure-cooker situations and it would be interesting to see how the bowlers respond to the pressure.

Their batting, on the other hand, seems to be fully equipped and is arguably RCB's stronger suit. Though they are reliant on ABD and Virat to do the most of the damage, there have already been cases in the tournament wherein the Challengers have done well despite either of those two not firing. The presence of Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, and Chris Morris adds depth to their batting order and Virat Kohli reiterated this by replacing Gurkeerat Singh Mann with Mohammad Siraj in the last match. Unless there are any injures, we expect the Royal Challengers Bangalore to field the same eleven as they did in their last outing. And just as was the case in the last match, beating RCB would take a massive effort.

KINGS XI PUNJAB

If Kings XI Punjab had a choice to pick a side that they want to be up against being in the situation they're in, there are high chances that they'd have zeroed-in on Royal Challengers Bangalore. In fact, the only win that KXIP have got so far has come over RCB, albeit at a different venue.

In that match, it was KL Rahul that went berserk against the Challengers' bowlers, although with luck favoring him. While KL Rahul has scored runs in heaps after that as well, he hasn't scored runs at the pace he'd have liked to. In fact, he has only dragged the team back with his under-par strike-rate on a few occasions. With the kind of middle-order that the Kings have, playing fearlessly at the top would be a key in the upcoming match.

A five-day-long break would have given the management of KXIP a lot of time to ponder upon the gaps that they need to plug going forward in the tournament. We expect them to bring Chris Gayle into the playing eleven and his presence could be of colossal advantage on a ground with short boundaries. With the likes of Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, and Nicholas Pooran already doing well, Kings XI Punjab will have a terrific batting lineup if Chris Gayle does play in the upcoming match.

It has also been baffling to see KXIP take some unwarranted decisions. With 21 needed off 16 against KKR, they sent in Simrat Singh to finish the job with Glenn Maxwell available as well. That move eventually backfired as Simran consumed three dot balls, putting an extra bit of pressure on KL Rahul - the set batsman at that time. Kings XI Punjab lost that match by two runs, the match that should never have entered the 20th over of the second innings.

Kings XI Punjab's bowlers did well against Kolkata Knight Riders and looked hungry from the very first over. The addition of young Arshdeep Singh seems to be working to perfection for them. Arshdeep, bowling in tandem with Shami, was brilliant against KKR as the pair didn't give too many runs away in the first few overs. Ravi Bishnoi, as well, has bowled in a terrific manner in the last few matches and could be the bowler to watch out for in the upcoming match. Jordan and Mujeeb, however, conceded 81 runs off their 8 overs combined and one of those could sit out in the upcoming contest.

While the kind of defeat that Kings XI Punjab face can deflate even the best teams in the business, a long break is likely to have immensely helped them. It has been a difficult tournament so far for the Kings XI Punjab and they seem to be just losing the plot. They need a miraculous comeback to qualify for the playoffs from here. It has been done in the past by other teams in the past is certainly a possibility this time as well. Besides, Kings XI Punjab have a terrific batting lineup, which could destroy even the best bowling attacks in the world. They'd need to show more intent and hunger at the top and if they are successful in doing so, we might well see the resurgence of KXIP in the second half of the IPL 2020.

RCB VS KXIP TOSS PREDICTION

The ground that appeared to be a batting paradise in the earlier part of the tournament, but hasn't stayed so as the tournament has progressed. As seen in the last two matches here, batting has gotten increasingly difficult. Even though the short boundaries have helped, timing the ball has been exceptionally difficult. With sun shining bright over the last few days and forecasted to be the same on the match day as well, the surface is likely to be dry and assistance of spinners will be there. Though the average total batting first at this ground in the tournament so far has been around 200, the team batting first here should be happy with anything over 180 in the upcoming match.

PITCH AND CONDITIONS

While Sharjah is a difficult venue to set a total, the captain winning the toss here will be a bit reluctant to bat second here considering the results of the last couple of matches. Also, unlike the case was in the first half of the tournament, the recent trend has been to bat first after winning the toss. We expect the captain winning the toss to keep the trend intact and elect to bat first.

RCB VS KXIP DREAM11 PREDICTION

Check out the Dream11 fantasy team lineup for the 31st Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 match, which is to be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kings XI Punjab. Don't forget to check back the latest updated Dream11 team lineup right after the toss.

RCB VS KXIP PLAYING 11

WICKET-KEEPER:

AB de Villiers (VC)

Nicholas Pooran

BATSMEN:

Virat Kohli (C)

Mayank Agarwal

Devdutt Padikkal

ALL-ROUNDERS:

Washington Sundar

Chris Morris

Glenn Maxwell

BOWLERS:

Mohammad Shami

Yuzvendra Chahal

Ravi Bishnoi

RCB VS KXIP BETTING TIPS

Royal Challengers Bangalore To Win the Match,