Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will clash in the 24th match of the ongoing IPL 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi in the first of the doubleheaders. The match will begin at 3.30 PM IST on October 10, 2020.
KKR has done well in their previous few matches, including a brilliant tactical win over CSK. Unfortunately, KXIP has been decimated in the tournament so far, having lost 5 matches out of 6 played.
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Now they are in a position of needing to win every match they have left in hopes of qualifying for the playoffs. Both the teams will be looking to do their best and win the match and picking the right team is the first step of that process. Hence, TEAM COC presents to you the Predicted Playing XIs of the KXIP v KKR match.
KINGS XI PUNJAB (KXIP)
KXIP has got nothing going for them despite the team having both the top two highest run-getters in the tournament so far in captain KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal. They have also scored the two centuries hit in the tournament. Unfortunately, their team hasn’t performed as a unit.
RR outplayed them in Sharjah where their bowlers couldn’t defend 224 runs and SRH choked them in their last game while chasing 202 runs. In the batting department, Glenn Maxwell has disappointed a lot, given he was picked as the designated finisher for the team and despite his misfortunes, he was stuck with.
Now in a situation, where they have to win all their remaining matches, they need to bring Chris Gayle into the team to lend solidity to their batting order which ends at no.7.
Mohammad Shami has been their best bowler, but even he has been ineffective as he hasn’t got any support from the other hand, barring a few impressive performances from young Ravi Bishnoi. Sheldon Cottrell hasn’t fired as expected and may be replaced by Hardus Viljoen bringing in extra speed and bounce to the mix.
KOLKATA KNIGHT RIDERS (KKR)
KKR pulled off a brilliant and well-planned win over CSK in their last match. Dinesh Karthik, who was under fire for his leadership skills, outthought the brilliant MS Dhoni in the field, choking the opponents by using spin in the second half of the innings.
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The Shah Rukh Khan–owned franchise’s Achilles heel was their opening duo, with Narine not firing enough. Tripathi was given a chance at the top and he came good with a Man of the Match performance and is likely to continue in that position, especially now KKR looks completely different and well-oiled machinery.
Pat Cummins has led the bowling attack nicely with Nagarkoti and Mavi playing their parts to the tee, while Narine and Varun have combined to form a good spin web around the batsmen. The team looks good not only on paper but in the ground as well and should look to keep the pressure on KXIP, given their poor run of form.
KXIP COC Predicted Playing XI:
Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (C), Mayank Agarwal, Prabhsimran Singh (WK), Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen
KKR COC Predicted Playing XI:
Shubman Gill, Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana, Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik (C&WK), Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Pat Cummins, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakravarthy
