The third match of the second leg and the 31st match of the tournament will be played at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
RCB is number 3 in the points table whereas KXIP is 8th placed side.
Head to Head
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have played Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) 25 times in the past.
When it comes to the matchup of these teams; KXIP have won 13 matches out of the 25 matches played.
The crucial thing though, is that if we look at their last four encounters, RCB has won 4 of the last 5 encounters between them.
In the first leg encounter between these two teams, KXIP defeated RCB.
Squads
Top players of RCB & KXIP
RCB:
V Kohli: After failure with the bat in the first 3 matches he has been in stupendous form, in the recent matches he has scored 33*, 90*, 43 and 72*. In the first leg encounter versus KXIP, his team collapsed for 109 runs however this time around he would want to be leading from the front and take revenge for the same.
AB de Villiers: He has been the man in form for RCB this year. In the previous match versus KKR he demolished their bowling, he scored 73 of 33 balls which he hit six 6's.
A Finch: In the previous match, he scored 47 runs off 37 balls and apart from his fifty against MI he hasn't really performed as expected from him. Kohli & AB de Villiers have been in great touch for RCB if he too performs as per the expectation that would make RCB batting lineup very dangerous.
Y Chahal: He was unbelievably good against KKR. He picked up a wicket of D Karthik and gave away only 12 runs in his 4 overs. This year he has picked up 10 wickets at an average of 19.10 and a strike rate of 16.20 with a pretty good economy of 7.07. In the first leg encounter against KXIP, he was the pick of the bowlers for RCB.
D Padikkal: This youngster continues his dream run at IPL, he has scored 243 runs at an average of 34.71 and a strike rate of 126.56. Against KKR in the previous match, he played a cameo of 33 off 23 balls. It would be interesting to see his dual with Shami at the beginning of the innings.
KXIP:
C Gayle: The Universe Boss is set to play in today's match if nothing drastic happens to health Gayle will play this match. The former RCB player has a very good record in IPL, he has scored 4484 runs at a strike rate of 151.02 and an average of 41.13. He surely would be the player to watch out for in this match.
KL Rahul: He is the leading run-scorer in this tournament. Overall, he has scored 387 runs at an average of 64.50 and a strike rate of 134.84. Despite his heroics at the top, his team has won only one match, maybe the inclusion of C Gayle can change fortunes for KXIP.
M Agarwal: He has been exceptional in this tournament, this is by far his best IPL performance of his career. He is second highest run-scorer after his captain, his average of 48.14 and a phenomenal strike rate of 158.96 speaks about his form.
M Shami: He has picked up a wicket in 6 out of the 7 matches he played. He might have been expensive at times but has almost always looked dangerous with the ball. He needs to bowl extremely well if KXIP needs to do well in the second leg.
Other Exciting players
C Morris (RCB): He has played 2 matches for RCB and has been exceptional in both the matches. He has picked up 4 wickets at an unbelievable average of 7.20, Economy of 4.50 and a strike rate of 9.60.
Ravi Bishnoi (KXIP): This youngster has had a decent season so far. He picked up 3 wickets in the previous encounter between these two teams. It would be interesting to see him bowl against the likes of V Kohli & AB de Villiers.
Shivam Dube (RCB): He has been an unsung hero for RCB, he has played a few meaningful cameos for them. Although he hasn't been used with the ball much; he is a player which gives RCB a lot of flexibility.
W Sundar(RCB): He has been splendid with the ball in the power play overs. It would be exciting to see the battle between the KXIP openers versus this miserly bowler. He is second in the list of most economical bowlers with an economy of 4.90 after his teammate C Morris who is at number 1 position.
Likely Playing 11
KXIP:
Chris Gayle, KL Rahul (c)(WK), Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell/J Neesham, Mandeep Singh, Chris Jordan, Mohammed Shami, M Ashwin/K Gowtham, Ravi Bishnoi, A Singh.
RCB:
Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (WK), Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, I Udana, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Y Chahal
This being a must-win match for KXIP it would be an interesting encounter to between these two teams. If RCB wins this match they will topple MI to the second position in the points table. With Gayle returning maybe we have upset on cards.