Adam Zampa picked up two wickets in a miserly spell of leg spin bowling as Australia edged India by four runs in an enthralling rain-shortened Twenty20 International in Brisbane on Wednesday.
RCB and LSG will be looking horns in a high-octane clash in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli slammed half-centuries as India edged Australia by six wickets in the third and final T20 International in Hyderabad on Sunday, to claim the series 2-1.
Batting first, West Indies scored 229 in 49.2 overs after being reduced to 104 for 6 at one stage.
Majestic cricket milestones mark T20 World Cup journey
Glenn Maxwell played a scintillating cameo hitting an unbeaten 32 off 14 balls under pressure to power Kings XI Punjab to a six-wicket win over Rising Pune Supergiants.
Australia swashbuckling all-rounder Glenn Maxwellbelieves that the former skipper Michael Clarke didn't have 'that same personal side' as that of his successor Steve Smith.
Three matches might be too small a sample size to form an opinion but going by the lack of variety that's been on show in Royal Challengers Bengaluru's bowling attack, they might just be staring at a long, tiring IPL season this year.
Australia have amassed a string of explosive batters in their lineup but Finch said the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Tim David could play the anchor's role as well.
They have looked more comfortable setting targets than chasing one though, and they will expect more penetration from their bowlers against a resurgent Australia.
Images from the IPL 2022 Playoff Eliminator match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants
Innovative strokeplay from Glenn Maxwell (23) injected impetus into Australia's response, though it was Stoinis who delivered the knockout blow as spinner Wanindu Hasaranga conceded 53 runs in three overs without taking a wicket.
Pat Cummins may be undecided about his future as Australia's One-Day International captain after the World Cup but few of his compatriots will be urging him to stand down after his efforts in India.
FIXTURES (Start at 14.40 local, 0910 IST, 0340 GMT)
A look at the best bowling performances from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings match in Bengaluru.
David Warner led from the front with a destructive cameo as Australia beat Pakistan by two wickets to clinch their first ever Hong Kong Super Sixes cricket trophy.
Ferguson believes New Zealand bowling attack remain a 'handsome bunch' despite losing fast bowler Matt Henry and have all bases covered.
Former spinner Shane Warne questioned the inclusion of Steve Smith in Australia's line-up at the Twenty20 World Cup in a scathing assessment of the country's loss against England on Saturday.
India's young, rising stars Ruturaj Gaikwad, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan come up with world-class performances.
Gujarat Titans' captain Hardik Pandya rued that technology did not come to their rescue when Matthew Wade was adjudged LBW in a controversial call but said overall on most occasions it has helped in taking right decision.
LSG, despite losing three wickets in Powerplay with just 23 runs on the board, managed to win the game by one wicket on Monday, with the West Indian middle-order batter scoring a 19-ball 62, and blasting the fastest half-century in IPL 2023 off just 15 deliveries.
Delhi Daredevils restricted the lethal Kings XI Punjab batting line-up to 143/8 courtesy a superb performance from their pace bowlers.
From a maths perspective, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Gujarat Titans can still reach the IPL playoffs, but they need to ward off inner gremlins on Saturday to notch a mandatory win to keep that dream flickering.
KL Rahul believes it is always good to put himself in "challenging situations"
That merging of skills and temperament has made him a much more desirable player than in the past.
The nail-biting win over defending champions Mumbai Indians was certainly a morale-lifter but the inconsistent Kings XI Punjab have another tough battle at hand when they take on table toppers Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League, in Dubai, on Tuesday.
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.
Kings XI Punjab will look to go all guns blazing against down and out Gujarat Lions in Mohali.
McCoy and Prasidh Krishna kept it tight at the death, Krishna in particular being being on the money with his yorkers and picking the important wickets of Dinesh Karthik and Wanindu Hasaranga in the same over.
"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.
IMAGES from the 2nd T20I played between India and Australia in Nagpur on Friday.
RCB's fielding complemented the bowling and the team coasted to a well-deserved victory.
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.
KXIP got its campaign back on track with three consecutive wins -- over mighty Delhi Capitals, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore and the KL Rahul-led side would be hoping to carry the winning momentum forward to break into top four.
Images from Wednesday's World Cup mach between Australia and Pakistan, at The County Ground, in Taunton.
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.
'That's a standard we want to keep going with for the rest of tournament.'
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.
Big-hitting Tim David is a "versatile and flexible" player. His presence only adds to the options Australia possess going into the T20 World cup, feels skipper Aaron Finch.
