(Cricket news) A win for RCB would virtually guarantee them a place in the playoffs as they breach the magical 16 point mark for qualification. The equation for PBKS is pretty simple, they need to win their remaining games if they want to qualify for the playoffs.
PBKS have won 5 matches this season and seem to be paddling through a familiar storyline, with the team turning out to be inconsistent. To make matters worse, their NRR of -.231 isn't impressive either. In the batting department, Johnny Bairstow finally found form after being promoted to the top order as captain Mayank Agarwal continues his struggles with the bat, in the lower order Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma are playing the finisher roles in the team as their are masking Shahrukh Khan's modest form. In the bowling department, they have picked the second-fewest wickets in the middle overs of the innings and have the worst economy rate in the middle overs also. Once again they have to heavily depend upon Kagiso Rabada and Rahul Chahar to strike crucial blows. Rabada has dismissed his former South African skipper Du Plessis thrice in T20 cricket.
RCB are a win away from virtually sealing their place in the top four but Faf Du Plessis and co will be worried about their poor net run rate which leaves them with less room to work with. The last 4 out of the 5 batters scored 30’s and helped them reach a mammoth total. One of the key players in the past few games has been Rajat Patidar, who was brought in belatedly as a replacement player but has been a revelation at the no 3 spot. Dinesh Karthik continued his fine form this season and will again be the key player against PBKS as he will be assigned with the job to finish the innings. In the bowling department, Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will be the key as Mayank Agarwal and Shikhar Dhawan have been dismissed four times each against spin while Bairstow has fallen twice to spin in IPL 2022. Hasaranga also dismissed Mayank at the start of the tournament.
Pitch and weather report: The Brabourne Stadium pitch has been on the slower side as batting becomes difficult with the older ball but the last match played on this venue was on 6th May as we can expect a new pitch for this game. Spinners will play a crucial role in the match. The temperature is going to hover around 30 degrees with no chance of rain as dew might play a factor in the second innings.
Interesting facts:
- Karthik, Livingstone, Rajapaksa and Jitesh have the highest strike rates for the first 10 balls faced, in IPL 2022
- Faf du Plessis has scored 702 runs in 13 innings against the PBKS
- Arshdeep has given away just five sixes off the 38 overs he has bowled this season, the least for a bowler this season
- Kohli has been dismissed in the first 15 balls on eight occasions in IPL 2022
- Rabada has taken 18 wickets which is the most by a pacer in IPL 2022
- Virat Kohli needs one more run to become the first player to 6500 runs in the IPL
- Mayank Agarwal needs seven more runs to reach 1500 runs for PBKS in the IPL.
Also read: CSK's fast bowling stock will be strengthened next season, hints Dhoni
Probable XI for PBKS:
1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Mayank Agarwal (capt), 4 Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 7 Rishi Dhawan, 8 Rahul Chahar, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Sandeep Sharma
Probably XI for RCB:
1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Virat Kohli, 3 Rajat Patidar, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Shahbaz Ahmed, 6 Mahipal Lomror, 7 Dinesh Karthik (wk), 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Josh Hazlewood
