Probable XI –
Royal Challengers Bangalore –
Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Kings XI Punjab –
KL Rahul (c), Mayank Agarwal, Deepak Hooda/Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Simran Singh (wk), Chris Gayle, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sheldon Cottrell/Hardus Viljoen, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Small League Combination 1 –
1. Ab De Villiers
2. Lokesh Rahul(C)
3. Virat Kohli(VC)
4. Devdutt Padikkal
5. Chris Gayle
6. Chris Morris
7. Glenn Maxwell
8. Yuzvendra Chahal
9. Mohammad Siraj
10. Chris Jordan
11. Arshdeep Singh
– Lokesh Rahul has phenomenal average of 61 in 7 head to head matches against RCB which makes him best captain pick.
-Virat Kohli has been consistent with 30-40 runs against the opponent. He is the safest VC in SL combo.
-Ab De Villiers is must have considering the short venue of Sharjah & his average of 50 against the opponent.
-Yuzvendra Chahal has taken wickets at an average of 16 against KXIP so he is likely to get a wicket or two in this match.
Small League Combination 2 –
1. Ab De Villiers(C)
2. Lokesh Rahul(VC)
3. Nicholas Pooran
4. Virat Kohli
5. Devdutt Padikkal
6. Mandeep Singh
7. Chris Morris
8. Washington Sundar
9. Yuzvendra Chahal
10. Arshdeep Singh
11. Ravi Bishnoi
– Nicholas Pooran might play a top knock at this short venue as his natural game is to play attacking cricket.
-Devdutt Padikal though failed last time against KXIP but he will surely bounce back in this match.
-Chris Morris is taking wickets consistently so can’t leave him in SL combo.
Grand League Combination –
1. Ab De Villiers
2. Lokesh Rahul
3. Nicholas Pooran
4. Virat Kohli
5. Devdutt Padikkal
6. Chris Gayle(C)
7. Washington Sundar
8. Shivam Dube
9. Yuzvendra Chahal(VC)
10. Hardus Viljoen
11. Arshdeep Singh
– Chris Gayle has mustered runs at an average of 53 against the opponent so he might play a good knock especially at this short venue.
-Yuzvendra Chahal has been very consistent against the opponent so he is likely to take a wicket or two in this match.
– Hardus Viljoen can be a good credit saver punt as he’s likely to play this match.