IPL Fantasy cricket, RCB vs KXIP: 4 key decisions for success
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Royal Challengers Bangalore are back at their den to play their first home game. Almost everyone loves RCB, don't we? Doesn't matter who we support but watching Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers at their best is a sight to behold.
As they search for their first win of the tournament against a Kings XI Punjab outfit that started their campaign with a win, we need to consider aspects while picking our fantasy team.
1. Don't bank on Kohli
Let's go slightly controversial straight up, shall we? Do not invest on Virat Kohli. Let's face it, he is the most expensive player in fantasy cricket so you are going to bank on him heavily to fetch you points if you pick him. But Kohli is coming after a break and he did look rusty in the first game.
We are still not sure how Chinnaswamy's pitch is going to behave this time around after being on the slower side last time. So take a huge punt and go ahead with AB de Villiers instead. It's very tough to accommodate both these great players in the XI so pick the South African ahead of RCB's captain. Wait and see if Kohli gets back into this groove quickly.
There is also another point to consider here. Ravichandran Ashwin is a spunky captain, a thinking captain, you can expect him to have planned something for Kohli. So the chances of Kohli succeeding is 50-50. There is an element of risk involved in this but when it comes to fantasy, you should be prepared to take some gambles.
2. Mujeeb - IN, Tye - IN
I still believe that Mujeeb Zadran will not be playing every single match for KXIP. The team management would want to use him as a special weapon against certain opponents in certain conditions. One such opponent could be RCB considering their top order.
Quinton de Kock and Brendon McCullum are very destructive and can easily blow any side away. But exposing them to spin very early could work in the bowling side's favour and that's where Mujeeb could come in handy. The fact that the likes of Kohli and de Villiers haven't faced him before can also work in KXIP's favour.
On the other hand, Andrew Tye might have had a poor game first up but you can back him to bounce back. RCB's middle order and lower middle order isn't an experienced one.
Their four best batsmen bat in the top four so Tye can use his experience and the knuckleball to good effect at the death against RCB's inexperience and might end up with loads of wickets. The only potential challenge could be de Villiers here but you can still go ahead and take this chance.
3. Gayle, Finch - OUT
One of them appear certain to play. Gayle has the experience and the emotion factor behind him having played for RCB all these years whereas Finch has returned after his wedding.
No matter who gets the nod to play, it's better to wait and watch how they fare before picking them in the future. Finch could be rusty whereas teams have worked out their strategies these days against Gayle.
If you are an RCB/Gayle fan, put your emotions aside. The big man is at a stage where he has to constantly prove himself again before being taken seriously. There is also another possibility of both Finch and Gayle not being inducted into the XI. What if Kings XI decide to stick to their winning combination? Plenty of uncertainties here.
4. Can Chahal deliver?
We all saw what KL Rahul did to Amit Mishra when he smashed the fastest IPL fifty. And we all know how good Karun Nair is against spin. Yuvraj Singh, who struggled the other day, is also a good player of leg spin. If Kings XI bring in Manoj Tiwary, you have another batsman who is going to tackle spin pretty well.
Chahal is a matchwinner, no doubt about it but he isn't exactly at his best right now either. He might come up against a team that plays spin pretty well apart from their two finishers Miller and Stoinis. So pick him only if you can afford him in the end, else, it's better to invest in some other player for now.