KXIP VS RCB: Kohli wins toss, opts to bowl first

RCB won their last game against SRH while KXIP lost their last game to DC in Super Over thriller.

Dubai: Royal Challengers Banglore skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl first against Kings XI Punjab here at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

There are no changes in the RCB side while KXIP has made two changes in their playing XI.

Against DC, Punjab rode on Mayank Agarwal's blistering 60-ball 89 to approach the 158-run target. While the other Punjab players failed to leave an impact and the team suffering hiccups at regular intervals, it was Mayank who single-handedly propelled Punjab and very nearly sealed a win.

On the other camp, Kohli's RCB will be high on confidence after kicking-off their campaign with a 10-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). However, RCB has its own problems to overcome, especially in the pace department. Lethal South African pacer Dale Steyn did manage a wicket. However, the 37-year-old was nowhere close to his best. Umesh Yadav also disappointed after leaking 48 runs from four overs and remaining wicketless.

KL Rahul: There were a lot of positives and it was the first game. Mayank's batting and our team's fight was heartening. Jordan isn't playing, Ashwin and Neesham come in. Chris Gayle will come in at the right time, don't worry about it.

Virat Kohli: It's a fresh wicket. Bit of dew in the second half and when the ball gets wet it's hard to execute. That's been a big factor. We have done really well defending a total less than 170 and seeing the bowlers executed their plans so well.

Kings XI Punjab (Playing XI): Lokesh Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Sarfaraz Khan, James Neesham, Mohammed Shami, Murugan Ashwin, Sheldon Cottrell, Ravi Bishnoi

Royal Challengers Bangalore (Playing XI): Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, Virat Kohli(c), AB de Villiers, Shivam Dube, Josh Philippe(w), Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Umesh Yadav, Dale Steyn, Yuzvendra Chahal