Match 48 - Punjab vs Bangalore: CrickingDuels Fantasy Guide

This CrickingDuels Fantasy guide is for the match 48 of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season which will be played between Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). It is a blockbuster game in a way and on a pitch which is a featherbed for the batsmen. A whopping 459 runs were scored in the last game between KXIP and KKR and the visitors had emerged victorious comfortably. Even this game would be no different and RCB batsmen would be itching to have a go against the bowlers now.

R Ashwin will be worried a little now and their middle order has been exposed a lot of times now. Moreover, Chris Gayle has been out of form for a long time and they need a victory at any cost now. They cannot afford to lose on more game and if that happens, the road ahead will be tough for them. Virat Kohli, on the other hand, will be delighted after the victory in the last match and would be eagerly wanting to get one more under his belt to rock the points table. Here we bring to you the CrickingDuels Fantasy guide for the game:

Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB):

Batsmen

This time it is a tough pick for me in this department only because of the quality of batsmanship being offered. There is no question that I will have to go with Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers based on their current form. They would love to go on an all-out attack in Indore and score big in this most important game for both the sides. However, a tough decision of leaving out Chris Gayle has been taken by me only because of the credits issue. Mandeep Singh and Karun Nair have been picked in the line-up instead and let’s just hope that Gayle fails in this game.

All-Rounders

No all-rounder from Punjab has been selected in the team and I have gone with Moeen Ali and Colin de Grandhomme. Both are available in decent credits and both will give bonus points in batting and bowling for me. Moeen Ali is likely to open the innings again and he also bowled 4 economical overs against Delhi. You will have Ashwin also to pick in this department but then the combination of the side needs to be changed again.

Wicketkeeper

KL Rahul hands down. Parthiv Patel will open the innings and picking him would be a gamble. But KL Rahul is too good to ignore and with the form, he is in, a century is beckoning for him for sure. There is a chance of Quinton de Kock playing who is available but it is unlikely that Kohli will change the winning combination for him as of now.

Bowlers

Andrew Tye, the purple cap holder, has to be there in any fantasy line-up. The other two bowlers from the home side are Mohit Sharma and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. While the former has been picked only because of the available credits and his slower balls might fox the batsmen, the latter has been a revelation in his debut season. Now Tim Southee is the only bowler from RCB side as I have picked a couple of all-rounders who can also give me points with the ball in hand. Southee is a worthy pick and he will bowl well at the death thereby giving crucial points.

So here’s our final CrickingDuels Fantasy team for this game: