RCB vs KXIP IPL 2020 Match Day Live Updates: KXIP Eye Turnaround Against Buoyant RCB

18:07 (IST)

Rajasthan Royals captain and Australian batsman Steve Smith is regarded as one of the best batsmen in world cricket right now. His qualities as a leader are also hailed by many. But who does Smith rate as the best captain in world cricket currently? The stylish right-handed batsman was asked the question by his Royals teammate and England wicket-keeper batsman Jos Buttler. "Who is the best captain currently in world cricket?" Buttler asked Smith in a video posted by Rajasthan Royals on the sidelines of IPL 2020.

17:06 (IST)

Veteran sports journalist and cricket commentator Kishore Bhimani died at the age of 74, family sources said on Thursday. He is survived by his wife Rita and son Gautam who is also a well-known TV personality. "He had suffered a cerebral attack a few days back and was undergoing treatment," a family source said.  Bhimani was one of the most recognised English voices of the 1980s. Following his death, a pall of gloom descended on the country's sports fraternity, with tributes coming in from all quarters. "RIP Kishore Bhimani..he was one of the good Old Fashioned Crkt writer who took Crkt writings like a player who takes to playing...Condolences to his Spouse Rita & Son Gautam.. GodBless All Always.. Fondly," legendary Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi tweeted.

16:47 (IST)

Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer remains "in a bit of pain" after hurting his left shoulder and a complete picture will emerge only after the arrival of his scan reports, said his teammate Shikhar Dhawan. Iyer hurt his left shoulder while trying to effect a diving stop during Rajasthan Royals innings on Wednesday and had to leave the field. "He (Iyer) is in a bit of pain but good thing is he is able to move his shoulder. I haven't spoken to him at length," said stand-in captain Dhawan after his team's 13-run win. The senior opener led his team well during the end stages of the game.

16:13 (IST)

RCB will be looking forward to continuing their winning spell at Sharjah on Thursday. Currently positioned at third spot on the leaderboard with 10 points the Viral Kohli led team seems to have found their mojo after a couple of hiccups early in the tournament. On the other hand, KXIP are having one of their worst stints in the IPL. KS Rahul’s team are at the bottom of the points table with two points from seven matches, winning just one match so far. They’ll be facing RCB again, the only team they won against in this tournament by 97-runs. However, this time around they will be facing RCB who are on a roll. KXIPs appalling performance and their ability to lose matches that easily could be won is worrying is a worrying factor. Starting now they need to regroup and cannot afford any slip-ups.

15:33 (IST)

Kolkata Knight Riders all-rounder Sunil Narine will work with the team's spin bowling consultant Carl Crowe to correct his action for the remaining IPL 2020 fixtures.Narine was reported for a suspect action after the side's match against Kings XI Punjab and also missed their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore as a result. Narine could go in for a to a biomechanical analysis but the rules around the quarantine periods would mean he would miss the remainder of the tournament. 

15:18 (IST)

Legendary football manager Pep Guardiola has had an impeccable coaching career having guided top-notch teams like Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City to multiple European titles. But when it comes to cricket, the Spaniard admits he has a limited knowledge about the game, which is something which he really wants to improve upon. With the whole world's attention turned to the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) in the UAE, Guardiola does not mind knowing more about the game from none other than current India and Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli. "It must be an attractive sport in some way but you need to understand it. Next time we've to watch a football and cricket game together. I want to learn your game and promise me it''s going to happen," Guardiola told Kohli during during a virtual interactive event organised by Puma India in which the Indian skipper was playing host to a star-studded line-up of sports personalities.

14:59 (IST)

Englishman Carl Crowe was the go-to-man for Kolkata Knight Riders spinner Sunil Narine after being called for a suspect action in 2014. And now with on-field umpires reporting him, Narine has again fallen back on Crowe to help rework his action for the remaining games of the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments said that Narine and Crowe have been working non-stop over the last couple of days to ensure that the mystery spinner can return to the bowling crease at the earliest.

14:41 (IST)

Royal Challengers Bangalore presently seem top have the best bowling attack in IPL 2020. While Navdeep Saini and Isuru Udana hade been doing well, with Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar manning the spin department rather well, South African Chris Morris has added an altogether new dimension to it all. On the Kings XI Punjab front. The beleaguered side is desperately trying to stay afloat with only skipper KL Rahul being able to put up anything like a fight. So much so that while his side is in the doldrums, Rahul sits atop the Orange Cap list.

14:26 (IST)

Rajasthan Royals were restricted to 148/8 in 20 overs despite getting off to fast start thanks to openers Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, but Tushar Deshpande and Anrich Nortje scalped two wickets to put the brakes in the run chase at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Despite losing match-winners Buttler and Stokes, Bahutule felt avoidable wicket of their last match saviour in the 14th over when the team needed another 52 runs to win off 40 balls turned the match in Delhi's favour.

Rajasthan were well on course for a win, but Parag (1) was run-out after a miscommunication with Robin Uthappa and this derailed their chase. Bahutule also said Stokes' wicket also played a role in their downfall. IPL 2020: DC vs RR Match 26 Highlights: Rapid Nortje inspires Capitals to win over Royals "Well, I think partnerships were pretty important, the start we got through Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, we did not need to lose these many wickets and especially that run out of Riyan Parag," said Bahutule at the post-match press conference. "The most important part was the wicket of Stokes and the run-out was very crucial, we could have probably avoided that and if Sanju stayed at the wicket, we could have taken the game a bit deeper and got these runs."

14:13 (IST)

Even Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has a superstition. "I love playing in white shoes, batting specially. It's more of a superstition for me," Kohli told Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City boss, during an Instagram live session. "When I bat, it's my zone and time to be absolutely close to myself and perform," said the 31-year-old, who made his international debut in 2008. Kohli also asked Guardiola about him switching colours of his shoes during his playing days. To which the Manchester City boss replied: "When I was playing, all the shoes were black. Now to find a black boot is so difficult. One day when I wore red boots, my mentor and the best manager Johan Cruyff saw it and made me change back into black boots."

13:58 (IST)

An exhibition of pace bowling was on display in the 2020 Indian Premier League as Delhi Capitals prevailed by 13 runs over Rajasthan Royals. Anrich Nortje cranked up the speed to deliver the win for Delhi, with the South African bowling three of the fastest deliveries in IPL history in the same game. Nortje’s battle with Jos Buttler was one for the ages and it was ultimately won by the Proteas pace ace. That display from Nortje proved to be crucial, with Rajasthan Royals being restricted to 148-8 while attempting to chase a target of 162. Rajasthan skipper Steve Smith’s poor run of form with the bat continued and the Aussie was dismissed for just the solitary run by Ravichandran Ashwin. Earlier, a brisk half-century from Shikhar Dhawan had helped Delhi overcome a fiery start with the ball by Jofra Archer. The England pacer claimed two quick wickets with the new ball, including that of Prithvi Shaw with the very first delivery of the match. With excellent match figures of 3-19, Archer was unfortunate to end up on the losing side, although his superb tournament with the ball continued.

13:38 (IST)

Virat Kohli and KL Rahul went live for Puma India on Instagram and had a candid conversation. The duo spoke about a lot of things on and off the field and were in a lighter mood as well. Among a plethora of questions, they were asked about one rule they would like to change in T20 cricket. Replying to this question, KL Rahul hilariously asked IPL to ban players like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers who are in exceptional form in this season.

13:12 (IST)

Kings XI Punajb players to watch out for: 

KL Rahul: Currently leading the runs chart in IPL 2020, the KXIP skipper's form has not been a true reflection of his side's form in the ongoing season. The wicketkeeper-batsman has already grabbed 387 runs from seven matches, having grabbed a ton and three fifties.

Chris Gayle: The swashbuckling batsman hasn't played in a single game this season, and also recently recovered from a stomach. He will be featuring against RCB, as confirmed by him. During the 2019 season, he grabbed 490 runs, at a strike rate of 153.60. He also slammed 45 fours and 34 sixes.

Mohammed Shami: Leading the KXIP bowling unit, the Indian pacer will be tasked with helping his side grab their second win of IPL 2020. Shami has been decent in the ongoing season, registering 10 wickets from seven matches, at an economy of 8.36.

12:51 (IST)

Royal Challengers players to watch out for: 

Virat Kohli: The RCB captain has rediscovered his form, which seemed to be missing in the early stages of this season. He was particularly impressive against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), scoring an unbeaten knock of 90 runs from 52 deliveries. 

AB de Villiers: One of the best in T20 cricket, AB de Villiers is a crucial cog in RCB's batting order, along with his wicketkeeping skills. In the ongoing season, he has scored 228 runs in seven fixtures, with a strike rate of 185.36. In his team's previous match, his unbeaten 73-run knock vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) helped RCB grab two points. De Villiers slammed five fours and six sixes against the CSK bowlers.

Yuzvendra Chahal: Having become RCB's most potent bowling threat and Kohli's main weapon in crucial situations, the Indian leg spinner is considered by many to be the best leg spinner in IPL, with stiff competition from Rashid Khan. 

12:29 (IST)

With the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 season having already crossed its halfway mark, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) face Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The match takes place on October 15. Both sides will be aiming for a win, with RCB currently at third spot, and KXIP are stuck at bottom of the eight-team table. The sides have already met in sixth match of the season, with KL Rahul's unbeaten 132-run knock helping KXIP to a 97-run win. In their last three matches, RCB has won two matches and lost one. Meanwhile, KXIP have crashed to defeats in the previous three fixtures. It is worth noting that star batsman Chris Gayle will be back for KXIP, having recovered from a stomach bug. The West Indies cricketer hasn't featured in any match this season. It will be interested to see how he reacts to the likes of Navdeep Saini.

11:57 (IST)

When AB de Villiers wielded the willow against Kolkata Knight Riders, everyone, including skipper Virat Kohli at the other end, watched in awe.

IPL 2020, RCB vs KXIP: Ravi Bishnoi is a leg spinner, who is a crucial cog in KL Rahul's team© BCCI/IPL

When AB de Villiers wielded the willow against Kolkata Knight Riders, everyone, including skipper Virat Kohli at the other end, watched in awe. https://t.co/7RudfP6nFC

— Technology Info Sec (@technology_tis) October 15, 2020

11:42 (IST)

Delhi Capitals skipper Shreyas Iyer remains "in a bit of pain" after hurting his left shoulder and a complete picture will emerge only after the arrival of his scan reports, said his teammate Shikhar Dhawan. Iyer hurt his left shoulder while trying to effect a diving stop during Rajasthan Royals innings on Wednesday and had to leave the field.

11:06 (IST)

But KXIP can take confidence from the fact their only win in the tournament has come against RCB, who look a much more potent squad since their last meeting on September 24. 

10:52 (IST)

The inability to produce an all-round show and close out games they should have won has led to KXIP losing six out of their seven matches.

10:33 (IST)

Kings XI Punjab will be hoping that Chris Gayle fires on his much-awaited return and they, for once, put up a complete performance in their must-win game against a high-flying Royal Challengers Bangalore here on Thursday.