IPL 2019, RCB vs KXIP: Bangalore to bowl first in must-win face-off

IPL 2019, KXIP vs RCB: It's a must-win game for Bangalore as one more loss will take them far away from the playoffs

The struggling Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on Kings XI Punjab in a must-win clash in IPL 2019 on Saturday night. The red-brigade has lost six matches on the trot, finding themselves rooted to the bottom of the eight-team table. On the other hand, Punjab may have had lost their last game despite KL Rahul’s maiden’s IPL ton but R Ashwin's wards have looked in great shape. They have won four matches out of seven but they have maintained dominance at home. The toss: Virat Kohli has won the toss and his men will be bowling first. They are going with just three overseas players and Umesh Yadav comes in for Tim Southee.

“We are gonna bowl. There is a lot of dew later on and we are a team that likes chasing. I have lost 5 out 6 tosses, so wanted to bowl first. We have no option but to come out and fight every game. Our position in the table is a reflection on how we have played so far,” said Kohli at the toss. On the other hand, Punjab have also made a few changes in the side. Hardus Viljoen is down with flu and has been replaced by Andrew Tye. Mayank Agarwal comes back in for Karun Nayar, Nicholas Pooran in for David Miller and M Ashwin comes in for Ankit Rajpoot. “You will have to string wins together. We can get the momentum by winning games consistently. We have played some good cricket over the seven games. We have been very consistent; chased down totals and defended totals. We have played some close games as well. That's how the IPL is,” said Ashwin. KXIP: Lokesh Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, Nicholas Pooran(w), Mandeep Singh, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin(c), Andrew Tye, Mohammed Shami, Murugan Ashwin RCB: Parthiv Patel(w), Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Marcus Stoinis, Moeen Ali, Akshdeep Nath, Pawan Negi, Umesh Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj