Friday’s encounter will see Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) lock horns with Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Brabourne Stadium. With the tournament almost in its business end, both teams will be looking to secure a win to keep their hope alive.
With RCB having just two games left, a win over PBKS will put them in the fray for the playoffs. Bangalore’s top-order has been a concern although skipper Faf du Plessis and Rajat Patidar have made contributions. Virat Kohli‘s form though continues to be in a tailspin, having aggregated only 216 runs at a strike rate of 111.34.
However, the Royal Challengers have a strong suit in their bowling with Josh Hazlewood leading the pack. Wanindu Hasaranga continues to flummox opponents with his lethal googly and is the second-highest wicket-taker this season. If there is a small leakage that needs to be plugged into the bowling department, it has to be Mohammed Siraj’s lack of form.
Punjab Kings, on the other hand, have struggled due to inconsistency, a persistent problem that has been in the last few years. Skipper Mayank Agarwal couldn’t live by example in the batting order. On the other hand, Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma have found the right gears but that has been offset by Shahrukh Khan’s modest form.
Match Details
Match 60 – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS)
Venue: Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai
Date & Time: 13th May at 7:30 PM IST and Local Time
Pitch Report
The pitch is expected to provide a lot of support to the batters as we have seen in the last few matches. Hence, a high-scoring encounter is on the cards.
Predicted Playing XI
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood
Punjab Kings (PBKS): Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma
RCB vs PBKS – Fantasy Team Predictions
Fantasy Team 1: Dinesh Karthik, Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Faf du Plessis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Glenn Maxwell (c), Liam Livingstone, Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada, Wanindu Hasaranga (vc), Rahul Chahar
Fantasy Team 2: Dinesh Karthik, Jonny Bairstow, Jitesh Sharma, Faf du Plessis (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Liam Livingstone (vc), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Arshdeep Singh
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