Steve Smith has elected to bowl first against KXIP in match 50 of the 2020 IPL. One chance in the Rajasthan Royals’ XI with pacer Varun Aaron coming in for Ankit Rajpoot.
‘I’d have looked to bowl first as well,’ says KL Rahul. KXIP are playing an unchanged XI which means Mayank Agarwal continues to sit out due to his injury.
With five wins on the trot, Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) are looking to further boost their playoff hopes while this is a must-win game for Rajasthan Royals (RR).
While KXIP (12 points) have turned it around after going on a dismal run in the first half of the season, RR (10 points) have been wildly inconsistent in the latter half of the season.
KXIP captain KL Rahul (595 runs from 12 matches) has been leading the batting from the front and has received good support from his opening partner Mayank Agarwal, who missed last two games due to bruised knee.
Mandeep Singh has filled in for Agarwal in the last two games and scored an unbeaten 66 in his previous match in which KXIP beat Kolkata Knight Riders by eight wickets.
Playing XIs
Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul (captain/wicket-keeper), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals: Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Steven Smith (captain), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Varun Aaron, Kartik Tyagi
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