IPL 2020: Rishabh Pant undergoes fitness test; no clarity on return yet

IPL 2020 | RCB vs KXIP: Match Preview, Predicted XI & Dream11 Fantasy Picks

Two teams with a similar history but a completely different journey so far in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League are set to contest in the 31st match of cash-rich tournament. One does not have to look beyond their standing on the points table of the tournament to understand the difference in the kind of cricket they have played so far in the IPL 2020. Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore and KL Rahul’s Kings XI Punjab both started their IPL journey on a similar note with a win but while the Kings XI lost their way in the middle, Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers have been able to challenge oppositions in the past few weeks of the tournament. On the similarity of the situations these teams have faced in the tournament, Virat Kohli’s RCB snatched victory from Rohit Sharma’s Mumbai Indians in a match that went to the wire in the super over against the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah, while KL Rahul’s Kings XI squandered a match they should have won easily twice - once in the 20th over of the chase and then in the super over, getting two wickets down within three balls off Kagiso Rabada. Both these teams share a history of not producing their best performances and doing injustice to the talents in their squad but Kohli’s team this year has shown the hunger for success and has hunted in packs for the same. The batting line up looks solid on all fronts while the bowling attack has stabilised after initial hiccups. Virat Kohli, the captain too, has shown signs of maturity as a captain of the T20 side and backed the bowlers to win games for side in tough situations. In the past seasons of the IPL, he was blamed for being fidgety and not showing trust in players’ abilities. This season though, Kohli has looked settled as the leader of the side and it has come down to the players as well who don’t look perplexed in the crucial junctures of the game. A sign of a good leader is to make people around you aware of the role they are expected to play and Kohli certainly has ticked this box in the season so far. The team has been bowling well in pairs and the death bowling which was an Achilles heel for the team management has been considerably better in this IPL. Bowlers like Washington Sundar and Navdeep Saini have been brilliant in phases that are deemed very difficult for bowlers while Yuzvendra Chahal has been on a perpetual growth curve. On the other hand, the Kings XI Punjab have lost all the momentum they had in the beginning and are now staring at the possibility of becoming the first team to be knocked out of the race to the playoffs of the IPL 2020. The team had made a remarkable start in the season but too much chopping and changing of playing XI and inability of the team management to pick players and giving them longer ropes have been proved costly them. The team management has shown signs of not relying on base and strengths and finding out the solutions for the apparent weakness but banking on new personnel to do the job in case of a few failures. The fact that teams have lost some key matches is also playing on the players' minds and matches scheduled very close to one another have also not worked in the Kings’ favour. The trio of KL Rahul, Anil Kumble, and Andy Flower need to get their act together and infuse some fresh energy into the squad otherwise the season will be over even before the start of the frightening win-all situation in this season. The playing XI in the last few matches has shown the sign of a team that had forgotten to win matches and found unbelievable ways to lose matches that were impossible to lose. The team will be buoyed by the turn of Chris Gayle and the team will be hopeful of him coming good with the bat. The team management had decided to include him in the playing XI two matches before but a food poisoning ruled the star Jamaican out of the action. The KXIP team management will have a sigh of relief and will bank on him to produce a rollicking start at the top of the order. His inclusion will also stability to the batting order which otherwise has looked short n confidence and at times in search of answers as an in-form Mayank Agarwal will be pushed to an all-important number three position The last time these two teams played against each other the opening pair of Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul had blown away the RCB’s bowling line up and won Punjab the match. The team hoped for a similar performance from the duo of Karnataka and with Gayle at the helm, would expect the top order to run the show against the RCB bowling lineup. Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab: Match Details Match Number- 31 Date: 15th October 2020, at 7:30 PM IST Venue: Sharjah Team News Royal Challengers Bangalore The RCB lineup looks complete and balanced with the inclusion of Chris Morris after he recovered from injury. The team looks solid in the batting department and although Aaron Finch has not looked like the Finch of international cricket, it’s unlikely Virat Kohli will take that tough call to leave out Finch and more when the team is going good. AB de Villiers will continue keeping wickets in order to maintain the team balance. Virat Kohli is all set to field an unchanged XI. Expected XI Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli (c), AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Isuru Udana, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal Kings XI Punjab With Chris Gayle’s return, Glenn Maxwell is set to be axed from the playing XI after a horror run of form. Nicholas Pooran will be able to save his place after he rediscovered his form in the last few games while Chris Jordan may well be axed yet again after failing to provide KL Rahul control in the end overs against the Kolkata Knight Riders. Mujeeb Ur Rehman was expensive in the last game but is most likely to retain his place as the team is searching for wicket-takers in the middle overs. Expected XI KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Simran Singh (wicketkeeper), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Chris Jordan/Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Kings XI Punjab: Dream11 team and suggestion AB de Villiers, Nicholas Pooran, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Morris, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Mohammad Shami, Ravi Bishnoi Captain: Virat Kohli Vice-captain: Mayank Agarwal

IPL 2020 | Watch: AB de Villiers vows to steal Virat Kohli's bats

All the franchises in the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League have used social media efficiently to bring the fans into the game after the coronavirus pandemic made them organise the event remotely, without any involvement of fans. The Royal Challengers Bangalore has tried to bridge the gap between the fans and the stare of the team and the captain Virat Kohli. In a video that the franchise shared on its Twitter handle, it was Virat Kohli- up and close on social media to his fans. The star right-hander showcased his own cricket kit and explained the relations he has with different forms of cricketing apparatus. Kohli made public his choice of gloves, pads, and all other protective equipment and that he is too keen on their use depending on playing conditions. He has too many(10) pairs of batting gloves in his kit bag and Kohli said that as the temperatures in the UAE have been hot and humid, he needs all these pairs of gloves to bat free of sweating hands. Virat Kohli has been an ambient supporter of Test cricket and he did not miss the chance to express his love for the longest form of the game even while showcasing his batting gears in a short video. He showed his thigh guard which had a kit number and Kohli was quick to clarify that the number mentioned on the guard was his test kit number and not the ODI’s or T-20’s. Kohli expressed his sincerity with very equipment and said that he carries each one of those in his playing kit while he comes for training in the field. He reasoned that having all the necessary equipment in the kit on-field helps him to do ‘one thing or the other’ in the training session. Kohli, like all batsmen, accessories a lot of bats with him on any tour, and that he also loves getting new pairs of pads before any new tournament. On his new red-colored pads which he uses in IPL, Kohli said that he gets a fresh one each season because the IPL happens only once a year. On the point of the number of bats in his playing kit, Kohli said that he likes to carry as many as possible and as the IPL is a long tournament, more so due to the pandemic that has forced them to stay in the UAE for three months, Kohli was not shy of showing off the quality of bats he uses. He also showed the two bats that are close to the best he likes using in a game. After introducing the whole of his kit, he also introduced an essential part of his training session with the RCB-- AB De Villiers, without whom Kohli can’ practice. Pulling his leg, ABD also showed a part of the kit bag that was not sown until then in video and suggested that Kohli keeps his bat hiding in those pockets to stop people that also includes himself from stealing his bat.

Breaking: Misbah-ul-Haq resigns as Pakistan's chief selector

After an eventful and unsuccessful year serving the dual role of the head coach and the chief national selector of Pakistan’s men senior team, Misbah-ul-Haq is all set to give up from his role ai the national selection committee. However, he will remain the head coach of the Pakistan men’s team and the announcement is due via a press conference scheduled today. Misbah who was one of the most successful captains of the Pakistan team was appointed for the dual role in September last year in order to bring solidity and stability in the support staff of the seniors team. He was appointed for these roles for a period of three years and it is still unclear on the way forward for both him and the Pakistan Cricket Board. There is a lack of clarity behind the reasons that prompted Misbah to consider resignation from the post of chief selector but few media reports have suggested that the implementation of a new code of ethics implemented by the PCB to address the rising challenges of conflict of interests had made his dual role untenable. When the board had implemented this code of ethics, it seemed that the board had no problems with Misbah holding two posts in the national team setup and rather his tenure with the PSL franchise Karachi Kings as their head coach was under the scanner. Misbah had a one-year contract with the franchise but the implementation of the ethics code will stop him from continuing.

IPL 2020: MS Dhoni gesture forces umpire Paul Reiffel to change decision; Twitter reacts

The Indian Premier League is a tournament of very high intensity and it does not spare even the best of players with immense calmness on the field. The tournament has seen players who otherwise remain calm and collected in the field losing all of their cool and reacting in manners unbecoming of them. The latest edition of such an incident happened when the captain of Chennai Super Kings MS Dhoni joined his teammate Shardul Thakur to start a heated argument against one of the on-field umpires Paul Reiffel to ultimately influence his decision. In the fifth ball of the 19th over in the Sunrisers Hyderabad's attempt to chase 167 runs set by CSK, Shardul Thakur attempted to bowl a wide yorker away from the arc of batsman Rashid Khan but the ball was clearly outside the reference line marked for the wide ball. Replays showed former Australian cricketer turned umpire Reiffel was in the motion of extending his arms to signal wide before both Shardul Thakur and MS Dhoni objected to it and Reiffel changing his decision midway through his signal. While there is nothing wrong when it concerns the laws of cricket, it cannot be neglected that the decision might have been prompted due to the protests from the legendary captain and his bowler Shardul Thakur. The Section 2.12of the IPL match playing condition says: "Umpire’s decision: An umpire may alter any decision provided that such alteration is made promptly. This apart, an umpire’s decision, once made, is final." This is not the first instance of MS Dhoni losing his cool over an umpiring decision. In the last season, Dhoni was agitated on the failure of on-field umpires to call no-ball for a delivery that was clearly above waist height against the Rajasthan Royals and had walked onto the pitch from the dugout to have a heated discussion with the umpires.