Kings XI run into a RCB squad which has grown in confidence by leaps and bounds since their last meeting.
The match, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, will also be a face-off between skippers KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, both seen as future India captaincy material.
Kings XI Punjab will look to go all guns blazing against down and out Gujarat Lions in Mohali.
Shane Watson's international future looked bleak on Monday after the all-rounder was left out of Australia's 13-man squad for this month's one-day series against India on Monday.
Skipper K L Rahul scored a combative 91 and young Harpreet Brar shone with bat and ball as Punjab Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 34 runs in the IPL match, in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
Images from Wednesday's World Cup mach between Australia and Pakistan, at The County Ground, in Taunton.
"Non-Indian commenting on the conditions in India and I reckon probably 80 percent said 'mind your business and go back to Australia and worry about your own country' which is fair enough. "But 20 percent of the people that understand the game and have a great passion for the game, a comment like mine whether they like or not is from the base of loving this sport, from the base of loving conditions and also experiencing diverse conditions across the world," Hayden said.
James Faulkner, man-of-the-match in the 2015 World Cup final against New Zealand, has been omitted from the 15-man squad named on Thursday, with selectors opting for all-rounders Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.
KL Rahul and Co would like forget the unsavoury incident and focus on the task ahead.
With Afridi ready to bowl his toe-crushing yorkers, what could go wrong for Pakistan?
KL Rahul was effusive in his praise for 25-year-old Brar.
Images from the third T20 International between Australia and India, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, on Tuesday.
The match looked like a Jadeja vs RCB contest. What an all-round show!
He looks to be in the form of his life, as Punjab had no ammunition to outmanoeuvre him.
Their winning streak halted by defending champions Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore will hope Harshal Patel returns to the playing eleven and contribute in bringing their campaign back on track when they face Delhi Capitals in the IPL match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday.
Courtesy of Jonny Bairstow's stunning attack, Punjab raced to 83/3 in six overs -- the highest Powerplay score in IPL 2022.
Pushed into a tight corner, Royal Challengers Bengaluru rose above their frailties to notch four wins on the trot and stay alive in the race to play-offs. However, a volatile Delhi Capitals offer them a different challenge in their penultimate IPL league match in Bengaluru on Sunday.
It will not be an easy task for a struggling Punjab side to stand up to the challenge thrown by a RCB team
The 31-year-old also led Australia to a Commonwealth Games gold medal last year and is the country's leading run getter across formats
RCB head coach Sanjay Bangar said the team's early exit despite some outstanding performances from Kohli, du Plessis and Siraj was difficult to comprehend.
The in-form Virat Kohli's Royal Challengers Bangalore takes on Mahendra Singh Dhoni's Chennai Super Kings in a top-of-the-table IPL showdown in Mumbai on Sunday with two points and momentum at stake.
Shubman Gill has overtaken Pakistan captain Babar Azam as the World No 1 batter in ODIs.
On the other hand, the Royals have managed to win only one of their three fixtures. They lost to Chennai Super Kings in their previous match to slip down to the sixth spot. Sanju Samson and his men will be eyeing a second win.
Marsh strained his back during training at the Gabba on Wednesday, Cricket Australia said, a day after Warner hurt his neck during a fielding drill.
Rohit Sharma did practically everything right in the T20 WC: He batted brilliantly, he captained even more capably, but he failed to top the most valuable player table. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024.
Hashim Amla's superb 103 enabled Punjab put up a competitive 198 for 4 in 20 overs but Buttler made a mockery of the target with Mumbai Indians knocking off the runs in only 15.3 overs.
In a potential knock-out clash, Pune defeated Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets on Sunday to finish second in the points table behind Mumbai Indians, which means they will get two shots for a place in the summit clash.
The India captain's 41st ODI century wasn't enough to prevent India from losing the third ODI against Australia by 32 runs in Ranchi, on Friday.
Australia, who are searching for their maiden T20 title, enter the tournament on the back of a horrific run, losing bilateral series to Bangladesh, West Indies, New Zealand, India and England.
The complete list of players sold in the IPL 2025 Auction in Jeddah.
The protests over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act notwithstanding, the players' auction for the Indian Premier League will go ahead in Kolkata as scheduled on Thursday. There have been reports of violence in West Bengal but Kolkata hasn't exactly been affected.
Steve Smith will lead Australia against India in the upcoming three-match ODI series as regular captain Pat Cummins, who lost his mother recently, will not return for the white-ball contest.
Chasing 146, Australia lost wickets at regular intervals. WI pacers Sheldon Cotrell and Alzarri Joseph dismissed opener David Warner (14) and Mitchell Marsh (3), reducing Australia to 21/2.
One of the most notable omissions from India's T20 World Cup squad, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal on Thursday asserted that he will be his wily, old wicket-taking self in the upcoming second leg of IPL in the UAE.
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji present Rediff.com's Most Valuable Player Index of T20 World Cup 2024 after Game 48.
Rediff.com presents the best catches from the eighth edition of the IPL.
India captain Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah were the only two Indians who found a place in Wisden's T20 International team of the decade, which didn't feature ex-skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Australia's limited overs captain Aaron Finch was named captain of the team, which has two more Australian in Shane Watson and Glenn Maxwell, two England cricketers -- Jos Buttler and David Willey, two Afghanistan all-rounders -- Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, and New Zealand's Colin Munro and Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga.
Mark Waugh names his top-five for T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka's Chamika Karunaratne picked up three wickets, including the crucial one of Glenn Maxwell, to trigger an Australian collapse as the hosts won the rain-hit second one-day international by 26 runs.
