Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2014 on today, April 28. This will also be the last match both teams in the Middle East-leg of IPL 7. Punjab becomes favorite team to win the title this time after the back to back four victories in four matches. On the other hand, Bangalore has lost their last two matches. They won their first two in the competition.
Punjab showed another side on April 26 when they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders in a low-scoring match. Kings XI Punjab chased down mammoth targets in their initial two matches against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals and then defended a huge total against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their third with ease. But in their fourth match, they could only manage 132 for nine in 20 overs. But surprisingly a disciplined bowling performance bowled out Kolkata for 109.
On the other hand, RCB star-studded batting line-up collapsed to the third lowest IPL total ever before Rajasthan made short work of the paltry 71-run target in Abu Dhabi.
Apart from Skipper Virat, Starc and ravi rampoul no RCB batsmen could make touched the double figures on their last match. Yuvraj Singh has been getting decent knocks but the pace of his scoring remains a concern.
It would be a morale booster for Bangalore if Gayle makes come back in the playing eleven after recovering from his back problem, but his availability is still uncertain.
Teams:
Kings XI Punjab: George Bailey (c), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Virender Sehwag, Mitchell Johnson, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhaman Saha, Thisara Perera, Glenn Maxwell, Rishi Dhawan, Anureet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Akshar Patel, Beuran Hendricks, Karanveer Singh, Murali Kartik, Shivam Sharma, Shardul Thakur, L Balaji, Parvinder Awana, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Mandeep Singh.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel, Albie Morkel, Mitchell Starc, Ashok Dinda, Ravi Rampaul, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron, Vijay, Sachin Rana, Yogesh Takawale, Abu Nechim Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shadab Jakati, Sandeep Warrier, Harshal Patel, Tanmay Mishra.
Team Cricketnmore Lal Prateek Vikram Singh