IPL 2020: Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals Preview - Punjab Look to Make it Six in a Row

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) would want to continue their fightback and make it 6 wins in a row when they clash with Rajasthan Royals in Abu Dhabi on the 30th of October. KXIP have won 6 and lost as many of the 12 matches they have played in the tournament and are placed at number 4 on the points table. The Royals have won 5 and lost 7 of the 12 matches they have played in IPL 2020 and are at number 7.

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KXIP started the tournament with a bang but then lost their way in the middle losing 5 consecutive matches before staging a remarkable fightback. KL Rahul, their skipper, has been the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 595 runs from 12 innings. Mohammed Shami, with 20 wickets has been their leading wicket-taker and the most outstanding bowler of the tournament. A win for KXIP would significantly increase their chances to qualify for the playoffs.

The Royals have won 2 of their last 3 encounters and are making a mini-comeback of their own after losing 4 of the 5 previous matches. To have any hopes of qualifying for the playoffs, the Royals not only need to win their remaining two encounters but also hope that the various permutations and combinations go in their favour. Ideally, they would want KXIP, KKR and SRH to lose as many matches as possible.

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Sanju Samson is RR's highest scorer with 326 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 157.48 while Jofra Archer has been their stand alone bowler with 17 wickets at an economy rate of just 6.71!

WHAT: Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 50, IPL 2020

WHEN: 30th October, 7:30 PM IST

WHERE: Abu Dhabi, UAE

TELECAST: Star Sports

LIVE STREAMING: Hotstar

Also Read: WATCH - The Suryakumar Yadav Silent Stare at Virat Kohli That Spoke a Thousand Words

Kings XI Punjab Team News

The injured Mayank Agarwal is likely to make a comeback and will open with KL Rahul. In that case, the impressive Mandeep Singh will go lower down in the order and Deepak Hooda will miss out. It would be interesting to see what KXIP do with Glenn Maxwell. Will he be promoted to number 3 to play a cameo just to shake things up?

Possible Playing XI: Mayank Agarwal, 2 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Mandeep Singh`, 7 Chris Jordan, 8 M Ashwin, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Ravi Bishnoi, 11 Arshdeep Singh

Rajasthan Royals Team News

The Royals are unlikely to tinker with the winning combination - the XI that chased down 195 against Mumbai Indians in Abu Dhabi. The only possible change could be Ankit Rajpoot who went for 60 against MI being replaced by Jaydev Unadkat - it would also add variety to the attack.

Possible Playing XI: 1 Ben Stokes, 2 Robin Uthappa, 3 Sanju Samson, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Kartik Tyagi

Also Read: Opening is Something I've Always Wanted to Get Into, Says Ben Stokes

Head-to- Head Record – Last 5 Matches

Kings XI hold a 3-2 advantage over RR based on the last 5 matches between the two sides. Sanju Samson's brilliant 85 off just 42 deliveries helped RR chase down a record 224 runs against KXIP in Sharjah in the first encounter between the two teams in IPL 2020. Kings XI won both, the home and away matches against RR in 2019.

To Watch Out For

Steven Smith would be itching to make a difference after a couple of failures at the top of the order. He is a big-match player as he has shown several times in the past more famously in the ICC World Cup in 2015.

Quotes

Rajasthan Royals: "Sort of bittersweet to be honest - it took so long to get one for the team. I would have preferred to get this form two or three games before when we weren't relying on other results to get us through to the qualifiers" - Ben Stokes after scoring a match-winning hundred against Mumbai Indians

Kings XI Punjab: "Once you get the first boundary going, I was always going to get into the zone. Tried to hit as straight as possible and it paid off for me today" - Chris Gayle after his Player of the Match Performance against KKR

• Ben Stokes
• chris gayle
• Indian Premier League
• ipl 2020
• Kings XI punjab
• kl rahul
• KXIP
• mayank agarwal
• Rajasthan Royals
• RR
• rr vs kxip
• steve smith