RCB host KXIP to keep playoffs chance alive (Preview)

Bengaluru, April 23 (IANS) With two back to back wins, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will aim for yet another victory and keep their slim chances of making it to the playoffs alive when they take on the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Wednesday.

RCB would take a lot of confidence from their last victory against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) which they registered despite heroics from MS Dhoni in a nail-biting clash.

The inclusion of Dale Steyn has strengthened their bowling attack who is not only providing the early breakthroughs but also is instilling confidence in others bowlers like Umesh Yadav and Navdeep Saini. Their batting boasts off having world class batters like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers, who have been in good form in the tournament.

KXIP, on the other hand, lost their previous game against the Delhi Capitals at the Feroz Shah Kotla in the national capital.

Apart from KL Rahul and Chris Gayle, their batsmen have not been performing -- a worrying sign for the Punjab-based franchise who are at the fifth position in the points table. Their bowling has also been not great with bowlers leaking runs and not picking up wickets at crucial junctures of the game.

RCB would be the more confident side going into the match, having beaten the KXIP the last time these two teams met at IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on April 13.

Squads:

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Parthiv Patel, AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Tim Southee, Virat Kohli (c), Umesh Yadav, Moeen Ali, Yuzvendra Chahal, Colin de Grandhomme, Pawan Negi, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Akshdeep Nath, Milind Kumar, Marcus Stoinis, Navdeep Saini, Shimron Hetmyer, Heinrich Klaasen, Himmat Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Kulwant Khejroliya, Devdutt Padikkal, Prayas Barman

Kings XI Punjab: Chris Gayle, Moises Henriques, Ravichandran Ashwin (c), Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, David Miller, Mohammed Shami, Karun Nair, Lokesh Rahul, Murugan Ashwin, Ankit Rajpoot, Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Hardus Viljoen, Andrew Tye, Sam Curran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Agnivesh Ayachi, Darshan Nalkande, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Simran Singh, Harpreet Brar