Indian Premier League 2019 Match 42, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab: Preview, likely XIs, predictions

After losing their first 6 matches in IPL 2019 and being trolled relentlessly by fans, Royal Challengers Bangalore returned to winning ways. With 3 wins in the 4 matches, that followed, Bangalore have still kept their Playoffs hopes alive. They will now host Kings XI Punjab for Match 42 of the tournament at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on April 24.

What if Bangalore had used Moeen Ali more efficiently? What if Dale Steyn had joined them earlier to breathe life into a seemingly lifeless bowling attack? One cannot help but wonder. As of now, however, the momentum is with them, especially after having beaten Chennai Super Kings, at that point the table toppers.

Punjab, on the other hand, had won 4 of their first 6 matches before losing 3 of their last 4. They are still at fifth place of the table, but a defeat here may seriously harm their cause. However, with the explosive Chris Gayle and KL Rahul going at the top and the consistent R Ashwin and Mohammed Shami handling bowing responsibilities, Punjab will be a tough nut to crack.

Head to head

Punjab still hold a 12-11 advantage in head-to-head clashes despite their 8-wicket defeat when the sides clashed earlier this season.

Gayle had batted through the Punjab innings that day at Mohali. He was left stranded on 99, off only 64 balls. Punjab posted 173/4 even as Navdeep Saini had 4-0-23-0 and Yuzvendra Chahal 4-0-33-2. Kohli (67 in 53 balls) and AB de Villiers (59* in 38) then helped chase down the target with 4 balls to spare.

Key players

Moeen Ali (Royal Challengers Bangalore): Five wickets and 6.68 an over to go with 216 runs at a strike rate of 169. The numbers tell the story. If they do not make it to the Playoffs, Bangalore will be left ruing the way they have underutilised Moeen throughout the tournament. He should have faced more than 128 balls and bowled more than 132.

R Ashwin (Kings XI Punjab): His out-of-the-box decisions on the field, tight, intelligent bowling (11 wickets, economy 7.53), and uncharacteristic slogging have made Ashwin one of this tournament’s most remarkable cricketers. It is time, however, that he surpasses even that to lift Punjab back to the top four.

Likely XIs

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Parthiv Patel (wk), Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers, Moeen Ali, Marcus Stoinis, Akshdeep Nath (wk), Pawan Negi, Dale Steyn, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Kings XI Punjab: Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Imran Tahir.

Prediction

Tough call, but Bangalore are likely to ride their momentum to win and keep their Playoffs hopes alive.