RCB are looking for their first home win of the season against a confident PBKS tonight, and their success hinges on how well their batters can handle the crafty Yuzvendra Chahal.
IPL Live Score | IPL Points Table | IPL Schedule
Chahal, alongside off-spinner Glenn Maxwell, have observed RCB’s difficulties against slow bowlers like R Sai Kishore (2/22, Gujarat Titans), Kuldeep Yadav (2/17), and Vipraj Nigam (2/18, Delhi Capitals), especially when the field is spread out.
Both Chahal and Maxwell have the advantage of familiarity with the local conditions, thanks to their time at RCB. The RCB camp can take some comfort from the fact that they batted first against the Titans and Capitals, allowing their spinners to exploit the no-dew conditions.
RCB will counter with their own spin options, Krunal Pandya and Suyash Sharma, who could provide some challenges for Punjab’s batting.
In addition, Punjab have promising pace bowlers, Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen, though they are not as experienced as RCB’s Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Playing XI: Philip Salt, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar(c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma(w), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Suyash Sharma, Yash Dayal
Punjab Kings Playing XI: Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Josh Inglis(w), Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal