RCB vs PBKS: They'll Certainly Use Him At The Start - Ravi Shastri Looks Forward To Virat Kohli vs Sandeep Sharma Battle

Ravi Shastri is anticipating seeing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star player Virat Kohli’s contest with Punjab Kings pacer Sandeep Sharma in IPL 2022 on Friday, 13 May.

Sandeep has an outstanding record against the former Indian skipper. He has got Kohli out 7 times in 14 innings, with the player averaging only 11.14 against the pacer.

Sandeep Sharma Is Going To Start Against Virat Kohli: Ravi Shastri

When informed about the record on ESPNcricinfo, Shastri said the Kings will utilize him with the new ball against Kohli, who’ll open the innings. The former Team India coach additionally cautioned the 33-year-old against Sandeep’s in-swinger, saying:

“We’ll have to see this because they’ll certainly use him at the start. He swings the ball into the batter. His main weapon, the in-swinger, troubles many players a lot.”

The fight will be more intriguing as the two players are out of form. While Sandeep has only two wickets in five games this season, Kohli has scored three ducks in the last six innings.

Punjab Kings Bowling Not Upto The Mark: Ravi Shastri

Shastri additionally talked about the Kings’ bowling bunch, it is the “main” reason why Punjab are battling to arrive at the qualifiers this season. The coach-turned-commentator explained:

“The main reason Punjab haven’t reached 14 points yet is that they are light on bowling. They don’t have the required depth which means the pressure comes on the fourth and fifth bowler.

A lot of times they have conceded 18-20 runs in one over which has turned games. They don’t have much time and need to bring their A-game now.”

The Kings are on eighth with only five successes from 11 matches and should dominate their last three matches to arrive at 16 points. Assuming they lose against the Royal Challengers, they are probably going out of the tournament.

Players In Good Form Should Bat More: Ravi Shastri

At the point when gotten some information about the Kings’ steady batting rearranges, which went under the scanner again when Liam Livingstone was sent at No. 6 and scored 22 off 14 against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), Shastri said they need to give their in-form players as many balls as possible to face.

Shastri said: “The players in good form should go first in batting. I have always believed in utilizing the in-form player. Like… Livingstone, if he’s scoring runs then send him earlier, let him play more balls.

He’ll score runs because he’s an aggressive player, he won’t mind whether he’s batting in the fourth over or the eighth over. Once he gets going, he’ll maintain that tempo so the sooner that happens, the better.”

This plan could imply that captain Mayank Agarwal, who has downgraded himself to No. 4, should drop much further in the event that the openers give a decent beginning. This looks prone to open into additional concerns than solutions for the franchise.

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