Punjab Kings will lock horns against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 27th match of the season at the IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Thursday in a day game. PBKS has won three out of their five matches while RCB has only won two out of their five games. The Mohali pitch is known for its seam movement and it could give us a low-scoring thriller.
We look at the current form, head-to-head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form for PBKS: W L L W W
Punjab Kings were under the pump in their last game against Lucknow Super Giants however they were able to get over the line after Sikandar Raza scored his maiden IPL fifty. Moreover, Shahrukh Khan must have gained a lot of confidence after providing the finishing touches.
Current form for RCB: L W L L W
RCB’s bowling has been an issue as they have failed to hit the right areas as a unit. They are leaking too many runs at the fag end of the game and they quickly need to fill in that hole. However, Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell had batted at their absolute best against CSK in the last game.
Head to Head: Matches: 30, Won by PBKS: 17, Won by RCB: 13.
Punjab Kings hold an advantage against RCB in the H2H battle.
Players to watch out for: Shikhar Dhawan, Sam Curran, Arshdeep Singh, Sikandar Raza, and Kagiso Rabada will hold the key for PBKS.
Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mohammad Siraj, and Dinesh Karthik will hold the key for RCB.
PBKS IPL 2023 SQUAD
Wicketkeepers: Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma.
Batters: Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (SL), M. Shahrukh Khan, Atharva Taide, Harpreet Bhatia.
All-rounders: Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone (ENG), Sam Curran (ENG), Sikandar Raza (ZIM), Shivam Singh, Mohit Rathee, Matthew Short.
Bowlers: Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Ellis (AUS), Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada (SA), Vidwath Kaverappa.
RCB IPL 2023 SQUAD
Wicketkeepers: Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik.
Batters: Faf du Plessis (SA), Finn Allen (NZ), Virat Kohli, Suyash Prabhudessai, Michael Bracewell.
All-rounders: Wanindu Hasaranga (SL), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell (AUS), Shahbaz Ahmed, Sonu Yadav, Manoj Bhandage.
Bowlers: Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood (AUS), Siddarth Kaul, Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma, David Willey (ENG), Avinash Singh, Rajan Kumar, Reece Topley (ENG), Himanshu Sharma, Vijaykumar Vyshak.
