IPL Fantasy Cricket, KKR vs KXIP and RCB vs DD: 5 decisions to help you build the team for the doubleheader

The weekend is upon us with another doubleheader to enjoy later in the day. Get your snacks and drinks ready, dinner prepped as you will not be budging from your couch till late into the night.

The StarPick fantasy game lets you create multiple teams and hedge your bets across different combinations, so winning thousands of rupees everyday is not that tough. The total prize money actually runs into millions, so the incentive to do well is pretty strong! Find out how much you can win today by creating your StarPick team here.

Kolkata Knight Riders host the Kings XI Punjab in the first match of the day. Both teams are looking to make it a hat-trick of wins and solidify their position at the top of the table.

Dinesh Karthik has marshalled his troops well as they are amongst the top in the table with an impressive Net Run Rate.

Meanwhile, Ravichandran Ashwin has proven his captaincy credentials early in the season coming out of Dhoni’s shadow.

Later in the evening, two teams at the bottom of the table will fight it out in Bengaluru as the Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Delhi Daredevils. Despite boasting of a star-studded line-up, RCB has continued to disappoint with their results.

Although Virat Kohli has scored the most runs in the tournament and Chris Woakes has the most wickets (tied with Mayank Markande), the team has just a solitary victory to show from four matches.

On the other hand, Gautam Gambhir has failed to turn around Delhi’s fortunes this season as they find themselves at the bottom of the table with an abysmal Net Run Rate. It was thanks to Jason Roy that they got off the mark.

Here are five points for you to keep in mind before choosing your team on StarPick fantasy.

#1 Kings XI Punjab bring in the King

KXIP made a last minute bid for Chris Gayle at the auction for KXIP for 2 crores Having gone unsold in the initial rounds of the auction, the 'Universal Boss' had an uphill mountain to climb that he scaled with ease.

He started with a fifty and backed it up with a century to climb up to the third position in the orange cap list. He is definitely a steal for Punjab and a must have in your fantasy team.

#2 Six, Six, Six - choose proven performers

It is going to be raining sixes today with seven out of the top 10 six hitters this season playing today.

Andre Russell leads the six-hitting chart with 19 sixes, closely followed by Gayle at 15. Ab De Villiers sits at sixth with 10. KKR have four players in the top 10 with Rana, Uthappa and Narine in addition to Russell.

#3 The Indian young guns - match winners on their own

Rishabh Pant has been an explosive batsman for Delhi providing the impetus they have needed in the middle overs.

Rana has been sensational with his batting in the middle order for KKR and also has De Villiers, Kohli, D’Arcy Short and Ajinkya Rahane to show on his wicket list.

Mandeep Singh has managed to keep RCB afloat with his hitting prowess.

Washington Sundar had a great outing with India in South Africa and his batting lower down the order is an added bonus.

Mayank Agrawal, after an excellent domestic season, has had his opening slot usurped by Gayle but expect him to continue his form at the third position in the batting order.

Rahul Tewatia has managed to keep the opposition silent and is Delhi’s leading wicket-taker and the most economical bowler.

#4 The overseas slot confusion - prefer all-rounders

The Caribbeans- Russell, Gayle and Narine are certain to play an important role while ABD is due for a big one. Trent Boult has been excellent for Delhi and Jason Roy won Delhi their solitary game in the tournament.

Chris Woakes leads the charts with eight wickets but has been expensive with an economy rate of 10.46. Maxwell is yet to come to the party, pick him at your own risk.

5. Team combination - be wise

Both games have reliable Indian players, especially the uncapped ones. Choosing all the West Indians is certainly tempting, but with budgetary and overseas slots constraints, playing all will be nearly impossible.

Gayle comes cheap, Narine is certain to open and bowl his quota of four overs but Russell might not bowl or bat as in their previous match.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman or Chris Morris might end up being the X-factor in your team. Picking a West Indian or two and working around with the uncapped players to add to the Indian stars will be a recipe for success.

Get started on StarPick to be the King of Fantasy and earn some hard cash.

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