Halfway through the season the Kings XI Punjab won just one game thus far. Their only victory so far in IPL 2020 came against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, a side whom they have defeated by 97 runs. This, of course, was the 6th match of the tournament and we are already into the 31st match. The same two sides will compete once again with each other in the second half of the league.

Since this match, a lot has changed for these two teams. RCB are going strong with five wins in seven games and have turned the tables around quite drastically. KXIP, on the other hand, have come up with some appalling performances. They lost close games, experimented quite a bit with their eleven, and brought up some disenchanting performances. However, they have to remember that they still have seven games left and still can turn it around. Starting from this game, they need to be at their best and can’t afford any kinds of slip-ups.

Match:  31

Day:     Thursday

Date:    15th October 2020

Venue:  Sharjah Cricket Ground, Sharjah, UAE

Time:    7:30 PM (IST)

Pitch and Conditions:

While Sharjah is a difficult venue to set a total, the captain winning the toss here will be a bit reluctant to bat second here considering the results of the last couple of matches. Also, unlike the case in the first half of the tournament, the recent trend has been to bat first after winning the toss. We expect the captain winning the toss to keep the trend intact and elect to bat first.

TOSS:

The ground that appeared to be a batting paradise in the earlier part of the tournament, but hasn’t stayed so as the tournament has progressed. As seen in the last two matches here, batting has gotten increasingly difficult. Even though the short boundaries have helped, timing the ball has been exceptionally difficult. With the sun shining bright over the last few days and forecasted to be the same on the match day as well, the surface is likely to be dry and assistance from spinners will be there. Though the average total batting first at this ground in the tournament so far has been around 200, the team batting first here should be happy with anything over 180 in the upcoming match.

Head to Head Stats:

Matches Played:  25, RCB Won: 12,  KXIP Won: 13

RCB Expected Playing XI:

Aaron Finch, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers (WK), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Isuru Udana, Chris Morris, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, and Yuzvendra Chahal.

KXIP Expected Playing XI:

KL Rahul (C and WK), Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Sarfaraz Khan, Chris Jordan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, and Arshdeep Singh.

RCB vs KXIPMatch Prediction:

RCB seem to be the favourites to win this game based on how well they’ve played recently. Both their batting and bowling has clicked, and they seem on course to get their third consecutive win. However, Punjab did play well in their last encounter, and they will certainly look to make a comeback. Kohli will be wary of his opponents, but his team is likely to walk away with the points.

We make our predictions after calculating each and every aspect of the match that is why we are the best tipper of IPL. Kings XI Punjab are coming off a deflating win, bouncing back after which is never easy for any team. Royal Challengers Bangalore have been in a rampaging mood in their recent matches and the recent experience of playing at this surface should play to their advantage. Kings XI Punjab are still searching for their perfect combination and they could be a bit vulnerable in the upcoming contest. RCB to beat KXIP. For more and assured free IPL betting tips keep visiting our website throughout the IPL 2020.