The Royal Challengers Bangalore will try to improve their chances of staying in the top two by winning against the Punjab Kings. Bangalore currently has 14 points, and if they win this match, they will get the same number of points as Lucknow, with 16 points, but RCB’s NRR is low.
Virat Kohli’s form is the biggest worry for RCB as he has registered 3 golden ducks in the last 6 innings. Faf du Plessis leads his team from the front and has scored more runs this season for RCB than anyone else. Dinesh Karthik is playing well as a finisher in the death overs, and he has scored 71 runs in the 20th over this season with 308.7 SR.
Leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga is bowling well and is the second leading wicket-taker in this tournament by picking 21 wickets. After performing well in the last two seasons, M. Siraj hasn’t been impressed with the ball. The team expects him to take wickets with the new ball in the powerplay.
The Punjab Kings needed to win the remaining three matches to keep their chances alive for the playoffs. In this tournament, Punjab has never won back-to-back games.
The PBKS batting line-up is filled with hard-hitting batsmen but lacks consistency in batting. Punjab struggled to score in the middle overs and scored the second least runs among 10 teams in the tournament. Punjab batsmen failed to finish well in the death overs.
Rahul Chahar started this season with more wickets than he could replicate in the remaining matches. He has picked up only 3 wickets in the last 5 matches. Arshdeep Singh was the best performer in the death overs in this tournament, giving a 7.25 economy rate and conceding only one-six.
Probable Playing XIs
Royal Challengers Bangalore:
Faf du Plessis (C)(✈️), Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell(✈️), Rajat Patidar, Mahipal Lomror, Shahabaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga(✈️), Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood(✈️), Mohammed Siraj.
Punjab Kings:
Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow(✈️), Bhanuka Rajapaksa(✈️), Mayank Agarwal (C), Liam Livingstone(✈️) Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada(✈️), Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh
Fantasy Tips and Dream11 Picks
Liam Livingstone is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm leg-break bowler. He has scored 315 runs in 11 matches and will be a good choice here.
Shikhar Dhawan is a left-handed batsman. He has hammered 381 runs in his 11 matches in the IPL. He will be among the top fantasy picks here.
Faf du Plessis is a right-handed batsman. He has smashed 389 runs in 12 matches in the IPL. He will be a pretty healthy pick to consider for this game.
Wanindu Hasaranga, a right-arm leg-break bowler, played 12 matches for RCB this season. He will be looking to make it count this season.
Dream11 Prediction Team 1:
Shikhar Dhawan, Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Dinesh Karthik, Rishi Dhawan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Captain: Faf du Plessis, Vice-Captain: Shikhar Dhawan
Dream11 Prediction Team 2:
Jonny Bairstow, Mayank Agarwal, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mahipal Lomoror, Jitesh Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Harshal Patel, Josh Hazlewood, Rahul Chahar, Mohammad Siraj.
Captain: Jonny Bairstow Vice-Captain: Harshal Patel
