IPL 2021 : PBKS V RCB Match Preview & Probable XIs

PBKS V RCB – HEAD TO HEAD : 26 MATCHES

PBKS WON : 14, RCB WON : 12

Royal Challengers Bangalore have certainly turned up this year. They got back to the winning ways in their last game after their drubbing against CSK. They sit comfortably in the top half of the table and would want to seal that play-offs spot.

Punjab Kings have blown hot and cold. They came on top in their game against the defending champions but had to face a heavy loss against the struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous game.

KL Rahul and Mayank Agrawal hold the key for PBKS. They need to ensure that either of them stays till the end as the other batsmen haven’t been at their best or have thrown away good starts. KL Rahul has the best average and strike rate against RCB and would look to further better his stats against them.

Punjab’s Australian pace duo of Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith haven’t stood up to the expectations. They have leaked too many runs and have just 5 wickets between them. Mohammed Shami is again carrying their pace attack with Arshdeep Singh chipping in on some occasions.

RCB bounced back in the last game and won it against the Delhi Capitals . AB de Villiers, for the umpteenth time, came out as their savior and took them to an above par score. Devdutt Padikkal has looked excellent with his approach in the powerplay overs. He has given quick fire starts and overshadowed Virat Kohli. Kohli’s form is a concern for RCB. Their skipper has accumulated just 163 runs in 6 matches at a strike rate of 126.35. These numbers are plain average as compared to the standards set by Virat Kohli and he would be itching to deliver with the bat.

There are some interesting match-ups lined up that could decide the outcome of the match. KL Rahul will pitch leg spinner Ravi Bishnoi against Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers. This could turn out to be an intriguing battle and can have an huge impact on the match.

The conditions in Ahmedabad are expected to be hot and humid. Teams would prefer chasing as the wicket is expected to ease out as the game progresses.

PBKS v RCB TEAM NEWS

Punjab Kings have the current No.1 T20I batsman, Dawid Malan in their ranks and with their middle order struggling, he could come into the XI at the expense of Nicholas Pooran.

For RCB, there’s nothing much to think about. They look well settled and are expected to go in with the same combination.

PBKS v RCB Probable XIs :

PBKS : KL Rahul (C), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan/Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan/Riley Meredith, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

RCB :  Virat Kohli (C), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Washngton Sundar, Daniel Sams, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj