'Can Kohli scrape through the Mohali test?' and 4 other things to look forward to as RCB search for their maiden win against Kings XI Punjab

Royal Challengers Bangalore will look to rise from the shambles by registering their maiden win of this season against Kings XI Punjab at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium. The Virat Kohli led side continue to languish at the bottom after suffering six straight losses. Meanwhile, KXIP on the other hand are yet to taste defeat at home in this season. Both teams will be heading into this contest after having lost their respective encounters. Punjab lost a last ball thriller against Mumbai Indians on Wednesday while RCB suffered a four wicket defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals.

Here's a look at some of the factors as both teams prepare for the face off on Saturday night.

1. Can Kohli scrape through the Mohali test?: RCB skipper Virat Kohli will be desperate to add the first two points of this season in his team's tally. At the same time, he will face a daunting task of challenging KXIP in their den as they are undefeated in Mohali in the ongoing season. Kohli will also look to avoid another unwanted record as well. Should RCB lose Saturdays' encounter then they will end up becoming a side with more number of defeats at the start of the season. They will then surpass Delhi (then Daredevils) losing streak in 2013 (six losses).

2. KL Rahul's heroics: Punjab will once again be hoping for an electrifying start from KL Rahul. The stylish opening batsman has been anchoring KXIP's innings and has gone on to play a few match-winning knocks as well. His registered his maiden IPL ton in the last game against Mumbai where he had scored an unbeaten 64-ball 100. However, his ton went in vain as stand-in captain Kieron Pollard played a blistering knock of 31-ball 83 as Mumbai won the contest in the last ball.

3. Head-to-head encounters: KXIP have an advantage over RCB in terms of overall records. In the 22 games that have been played between two sides, Punjab have won 12 of them while RCB have managed 10 wins. However, both teams are equally matched when it comes to playing in Mohali with three wins each in six games.

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4. RCB gear up to welcome Dale Steyn on board: Dale Steyn will be joining the Bangalore camp as he will be replacing an injured Nathan Coulter-Nile. RCB will be hoping that Steyn can fetch them some quick wickets and also help in containing the runs.

5. Beware of the 'Gayle Storm': Chris Gayle went completely berserk in the last game against Mumbai Indians where he scored 36-ball 63. He will once again look to provide an explosive start to Punjab. At the same time, he will be up against his old team and will be eager to challenge his former team-mates.