The KXIP vs RCB match will be played out at Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. The match is scheduled for a 7:30 pm (IST) start with the toss to take place at 7:00 pm (IST).
A look at the head to head between the two sides clearly indicates that the contests in the past have been evenly poised with both teams winning 12 out of the 24 clashes.
While Punjab lost their IPL 2020 opening campaign against Delhi Capitals in a Super Over thriller, Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled off an upset win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their season opener
Punjab might open once again with the KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal combination leaving out Chris Gayle, they will look forward for a better performance from their middle order of comprising Karun Nair, Glenn Maxwell and Nicholas Pooran, all of whom failed to deliver with the willow.
In a losing cause, Punjab had some hope coming in the form of pacer Mohammed Shami who was lethal with his bowling against Delhi Capitals will once again try to replicate his previous performance where he had returned with impressive figures of 3/15.
ALSO READ | IPL 2020 Points Table: Mumbai Indians Leapfrog Rajasthan Royals At Number One Spot After Massive 49-Run Win Over KKR
Shami is expected to be partnered by West Indian pacer Sheldon Cottrell who also had a decent outing against DC. The Punjab spin attack will once again feature India U-19 star Ravi Bishnoi, who impressed quite a few on his debut against DC.
Kohli-led RCB come into game high on confidence after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 10 runs in their season opener.
RCB did fare well with the bat but need to address their seam bowling woes as pacers South African pacer Dale Steyn and Umesh Yadav leaked away quite a few runs. Debutant Devdutt Padikkal lived up to his reputation by smashing a breezy 56 off just 42 deliveries spearheading the batting efforts for this team. Meanwhile Proteas Genuis AB De Villiers notched up a quick fire half ton of 30 balls.
Seamers Navdeep Saini and Shivam Dube were on target, picking up two wickets each, but it was leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who proved to be the game changer scalping three wickets to turnaround a close encounter on its heads.
Here are the complete squads for the KXIP vs RCB match in IPL 13:
KXIP: KL Rahul (captain/wicket-keeper), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Sarfaraz Khan, Glenn Maxwell, Nicholas Pooran, Krishnappa Gowtham, Chris Jordan, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Mandeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, Deepak Hooda, Harpreet Brar, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Darshan Nalkande, James Neesham, IshanPorel, Simran Singh, Jagadeesha Suchith, Tajinder Singh
RCB: Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (captain), AB de Villiers, Josh Philippe, Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Dale Steyn, Yuzvendra Chahal, Moeen Ali, Pavan Deshpande, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Mohammed Siraj, Chris Morris, Pawan Negi, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Isuru Udana, Adam Zampa, Kane Richardson