RCB vs KXIP: Pitch report and match preview
Virat Kohli's RCB would be desperate to return to winning ways when they host Kings XI Punjab at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Kings XI secured an impressive win in their opening fixture and will look to continue their momentum, but do they have enough to stop Kohli? Here is our statistical preview and pitch report for this high octane fixture.
Kohli's is a run machine at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Virat Kohli has scored 25,959 runs in his professional career so far. He is just shy of 41 runs to reach the 26,000 run landmark across all formats of the game. Kohli has a good chance of scoring those 41 runs today since he holds the record for the most IPL runs (1,874) scored at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Historically Kings XI have the advantage
Bangalore and Punjab have won 4 and 5 matches respectively at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. However, when it comes to overall record, KXIP have won 12 out of the 20 matches against RCB. Kohli's men have lost their last 5 games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium and will be hoping to change that record and set the ball rolling with their first win of 2018 campaign.
Ashwin will be hoping to set his poor record right
Kings XI captain Ravichandran Ashwin averages 30.27 against RCB in the IPL. He has bagged just 11 wickets in 15 games against Virat Kohli's men. Moreover, Ashwin has only 9 wickets in 12 T20 matches in Bengaluru. Umesh Yadav has bagged 20 wickets while playing against KXIP in the IPL. The speedster claimed these 20 scalps in 14 matches at an average of 19.10.
RCB have found a way to tame the dangerous Miller
South African David Miller has scored 227 runs against RCB in the IPL so far. Those runs have come in 9 innings which includes an unbeaten 101-run knock. Excluding the ton, Miller has just 126-runs at an average of 15.75 in 8 innings against RCB.
Can't stop him, so just buy him
Big-hitting West Indian Chris Gayle has scored 449 runs in the seven matches in Bangalore against Punjab. Gayle also holds the record for the most runs scored against Kings XI, he has slammed 797 runs against them. 634 of those runs have come while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. No surprise why Punjab bought him this year.
The mysterious case of Yuvraj Singh
Yuvraj Singh has struggled to score against spin in the IPL since 2015. Yuvraj has scored just 222 runs off 219 balls against spinners and has a dot-ball percentage of 50.2. Against pacers, he has scored 526 runs off 369 balls, with a strike rate of 142.6. But, Umesh Yadav has been Yuvraj's nemesis, dismissing him thrice in 32 balls.
Personal scores to settle in this fixture
It is the battle of the two captains, Kohli and Ashwin that makes this fixture interesting. Ashwin has never bagged the wicket of Kohli in the 14 matches between them. Kohli has scored 127 runs off 97 balls bowled by Ashwin. McCullum has managed to score just 34 runs off 38 balls by Axar Patel. The New Zealander has also fallen to Axar thrice.
Chinnaswamy Stadium is a batsman's paradise
The M Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch is difficult to predict. In the 2016 edition, it turned out to be a flat one, where batsmen could score at will. In 2017, it was a bit sluggish and the average score of the team batting first was 142 which is 32 runs below the overall score of 174 at this ground.
