RCB vs PBKS Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 6

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) failed off in match 6 of IPL 2024 at the Chinnaswamy on Monday, March 25. This is the first of the three back-to-back games RCB plays at home. They play five games in total in the first phase of IPL 2024

Date and Venue

 The RCB vs PBKS IPL 2024 match will be played at the Chinnaswamy stadium on March 25, Monday. The match starts at 7.30 pm IST. RCB and PBKS are heading into this game after opposite results in their respective campaign openers. RCB lost to CSK while Punjab won against Delhi in the northern derby. 

RCB vs PBKS Match Preview- IPL 2024, Match 6

Royal Challengers Bengaluru

RCB’s age-old problems of not being able to defend totals were evident from the very first game. They return to the Chinnaswamy where they play their next three games. Thus the bowlers will need to chalk out a p[plan to restrict the opposition from piling on too many runs.

The absence of a seasoned Indian or international spinner has been another major concern for RCB. Over the years, they had Yuzvendra Chahal, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Adam Zampa all of them have been released.

The batting as always looks very top-heavy with Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, and Glenn Maxwell. Rajat Patidar’s torrid run since the Test series has continued. By the looks of it, Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik have a lot of work as the season progresses for RCB. 

RCB Squad 

Faf du Plessis (c), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, Will Jacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan. 

Punjab Kings 

Punjab Kings won their first game against Delhi Capitals chasing at the newly built stadium in Mullanpur. They had an overall good outing with their batters chasing down the runs quite comfortably.

Important for them now is to build on the momentum that they have got from the first win. The franchise finished eighth last season and has been continuously finishing six or below since the last few seasons. 

The bowling group also had a good outing cumulatively, They were able to take wickets at regular intervals against Delhi Capitals. Barring the 20h over from Hardhal Patel that went for 24 runs, Punjab’s bowling was pretty decent.

Harshal who won the Purple Cap for RCB in IPL 20221 will know all about the Chinnaswamy stadium as he returns to his play against his former franchise. like RCB, Punjab also lacks a seasoned Indian spinner. 

PBKS Squad 

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma, Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajann, Prince Choudhary, Rilee Rossouw. 

Key Battles

Shikhar Dhawan vs Mohd Siraj 

Dhawan will open the batting for the Punjab Kings. He will be up against Mohd Siraj who has been good with the ball in international cricket. Both will look to outdo each other and therein lies the battle of wits. 

Dinesh Karthik vs Harshal Patel 

The two specialists at their respective jobs Dinesh Karthik will be pitted against the death overs specialist Harshal Patel. DK scored 38 off 26 balls against CSK while Harshal went for 24 off his final over against Delhi Capitals in their last match. 

Virat Kohli vs Sam Curran 

Kohli was dismissed by the left-arm seamer Mustafizur Rahman against CSK trying to take an aggressive approach. Here too he will need to encounter the likes of Arshdeep Singh and Sam Curran. Kohli has had his problems against left-arm pacers outside the off stump in the past.

Weather and Pitch

For Monday’s RCB vs PBKS game, the weather will be around 35 degrees during the day. In the evening, the temperatures will drop down to 256 degrees with clear skies. There is no change of rain with humidity around 36 percent. 

Speaking about the pitch, the average first innings score in IPL at this venue is close to 200. Scores of over 200 have been posted and chased down successfully at this venue over the years. This is a six-hitting venue. The impact of dew on this game will be an interesting observation. This is the first game between the two sides at the Chinnaswamy stadium since 2019.

Conclusion

The venue for this match gives us an indication that this might be a high-scoring contest. Overall, in 31 matches, Punjab Kinhs have won 17 matches while Royal Challenger Bangalore 14. All the matches have yielded a result.

 Also Read: Faf du Plessis blames Virat Kohli, and other batters for IPL 2024 opener defeat vs CSK