IPL: Punjab aim to return to winning ways against Bangalore (Preview)

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) will aim to push towards the play-offs with a win over Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here on Monday.

Punjab are third in the points table with 12 points from 11 matches, while Bangalore are out of the contention to finish top four at the end of the round-robin stage. They are seventh with eight points from 11 games.

Only Sunrisers Hyderabad, with 18 points so far, have guaranteed themselves a place in the play-offs. So there are three places still up for grabs for the knock-outs.

However, the problem for Punjab is that they arrive into the match on the back of two consecutive defeats and face a team that will be without pressure. From now onwards, the Virat Kohli-led Bangalore will be out to derail other teams' chances.

In their past two defeats, Punjab lost to Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders. In the loss to Rajasthan, the problem was their batting, failing to chase down the 159-run target. Against Kolkata, the Punjab bowlers had a day to forget, conceding 245/6. However, Punjab managed to reach 214/8, falling short by 31 runs.

To win against Bangalore, Punjab captain Ravichandran Ashwin would know that both their batting and bowling must click at the Holkar Stadium.

Punjab's batting mostly relies on openers Lokesh Rahul and Chris Gayle as the duo have accumulated 537 and 332 runs respectively. The Punjab openers have been a major reason behind their success as the two have handed a perfect start to their side on several occasions in this year's edition.

Karun Nair has been inconsistent with 246 runs scored so far, while veteran Yuvraj Singh and Mayank Agarwal are yet to make their presence felt in the middle-order. The trio's poor form will be a major cause of concern for the team management. However Punjab will be relieved by the fact that Aaron Finch returned to form with a 34 during the loss to Kolkata.

In the bowling department, Australian pacer Andrew Tye (20 wickets) and Afghan teenage spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman (14 wickets) have been brilliant. Pacer Ankit Rajpoot (8 wickets) and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (six wickets) and medium-pacer Mohit Sharma (6 wickets) need to raise the bar against Bangalore, who possess a strong batting line-up.

Bangalore have Virat Kohli (466 runs) and Ab de Villiers (358 runs) -- two of the best batsmen in world cricket. Apart from the duo, Mandeep Singh has been impressive having scored 245 runs so far but the others have been inconsistent.

Their bowling department will feature pacemen Umesh Yadav (14 wickets), Mohammed Siraz (8 wickets) and Tim Southee (5 wickets) and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (10 wickets).

Squads:

Kings XI Punjab: Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin (Captain), Yuvraj Singh, Karun Nair, Lokesh Rahul (Wicket-keeper), Chris Gayle, David Miller, Aaron Finch, Marcus Stoinis, Mayank Agarwal, Ankit Rajpoot, Manoj Tiwary, Mohit Sharma, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Barinder Sran, Andrew Tye, Akshdeep Nath, Ben Dwarshuis, Pardeep Sahu, Mayank Dagar, Manzoor Dar.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (Captain), Quinton de Kock (WK), Brendon McCullum, AB de Villiers, Sarfaraz Khan, Mandeep Singh, Chris Woakes, Washington Sundar, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Mohammed Siraj, Corey Anderson, Parthiv Patel, Tim Southee.

--IANS

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