Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Dubai
Pro tip
The consistent KL Rahul and AB de Villiers are the go-to men. However, do include solid middle-order options from both sides.
Our XI: KL Rahul, Aaron Finch, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Jordan, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi
Substitutes: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Devdutt Padikkal, Nicholas Pooran, Shivam Dube
Note: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates, so please finalise your team after the toss.
Player availability: Chris Morris might not be available for selection because of a side strain.
Captain: KL Rahul
Though Rahul did not get off to the best of starts in the tournament, he remains a strong candidate. Since 2018, Rahul has made 13 50-plus scores, the most by anyone. He is a punt worth taking.
Vice-captain: AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers showed the break has taken nothing away from his game. He has been fantastic against the Kings XI Punjab over the years, scoring 198 runs in his last three innings against them at a strike rate of 162.29.
Hot picks
Glenn Maxwell: Maxwell missed out in the first game but against the Royal Challengers' pace-heavy attack, he should do well. In all T20s since 2018, he strikes at 159.65 against pacers and 134.74 against spinners. Maxwell has been dismissed by Yuzvendra Chahal twice in all T20s since 2018, but also has a strike rate of 200 against the legspinner.
Mohammed Shami: Shami probably bowled his best spell in the IPL so far, when against the Delhi Capitals, he took 3 for 15. As a bowler who bowls in the powerplay as well as at the death, he is a good pick as 16 out of his 27 wickets in the IPL since 2018 have come at the latter stages of a game.
Yuzvendra Chahal: The Royal Challangers' best bowler by a distance is an absolute must-have. Chahal has the ability to tie batsmen down in the middle overs and pick up wickets at regular intervals. Since 2018, Chahal has picked up 37 wickets in the middle overs in all T20s at an economy of 7.90, which is good for a wristspinner.
Differential Players
Ravi Bishnoi: The control with which Bishnoi bowled against the likes of established hitters like Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer showed he can keep good batsmen in check. We are backing him to have a big season.
Chris Jordan: Though he went the distance in the Kings XI's first game, Jordan is someone who can be the difference between winning and losing, given his experience. He is a seasoned death bowler for the various teams he plays across all T20 leagues. Jordan has a strike rate of 16.02 at the death in all T20s since 2018. His ability to pick up wickets in crucial stages along with providing useful contributions with the bat make him a good choice.
Points to note
If Mujeeb Ur Rahman plays, then he should ideally replace Jordan.
In both games at the venue, batting second has been fairly easier. Hence, swapping your captain and vice-captain after the toss is an option.