IPL 2017, Preview, RCB Vs KXIP: Revived Punjab Take On Down And Out Bangalore

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) would be hoping that their Bengaluru trip does not end up with them again going lower down the order. The team has recovered from a pretty delicate situation to give itself an outside chance of making it to the IPL 2017 knockout stages and they would be very keen to make sure that they don't trip over the down and out Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who have little to play for barring pride. However, they could still be party poopers for some teams. With 8 points from 9 games, KXIP are placed fifth while RCB after 8 defeats from 11 games are at the bottom of the heap. For KXIP, a win will keep them in contention with another four matches after Friday's encounter.

KXIP won in a canter crushing Delhi Daredevils by 10 wickets in their previous game.

For the Glenn Maxwell-led side, Hashim Amla with 315 runs, including a century has been in good form. Martin Guptill also looked in ominous touch during his 27-ball half-century.

While KXIP batting needs to fire in unison, they will be hoping that pacers Sandeep Sharma and Varun Aaron do a repeat act of their performance against the Daredevils.

They would also pin hopes on left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who has taken 10 wickets from nine matches.

Squads:

Kings XI Punjab: Glenn Maxwell (capt), David Miller, Manan Vohra, Hashim Amla, Shaun Marsh, Darren Sammy, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Nikhil Naik, Ishant Sharma, Armaan Jaffer, Martin Guptill, Eoin Morgan, Rinku Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Arman Jaffer, Anureet Singh, Mohit Sharma, KC Cariappa, Pradeep Sahu, Swapnil Singh, T Natrajan, Matt Henry, Varun Aaron, Axar Patel, Marcus Stoinis, Gurkeerat Mann, Rahul Tewatia.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (capt), AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Mandeep Singh, Adam Milne, Vishnu Vinod, Sreenath Arvind, Kedar Jadhav (wk), Shane Watson, Stuart Binny, Samuel Badree, Iqbal Abdulla, Travis Head, Sachin Baby, Avesh Khan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tymal Mills, Aniket Chaudhary, Praveen Dubey, Billy Stanlake.