With the mid-week doubleheader scheduled to take place on Thursday, we have the Punjab Kings all set to take on the in-form Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, this Friday. The encounter will mark the 26th match of this season.
Punjab Kings find themselves in a tricky spot with just 2 wins from their 6 matches so far. They are currently placed in the 6th position but a win here could see them close in on the top four teams. On the other side, Bangalore have been having a wonderful season with 5 wins from 6 matches and their only loss came against the table-toppers Chennai Super Kings. Virat Kohli and Co. find themselves comfortably placed in the 2nd position.
Can KL Rahul guide his side to their second consecutive win? Or will it be the Challengers who come out on top in this clash and make it to the top of the table?
Match Toss Time: 19:00 Local (13:30 GMT)
Match Start Time: 19:30 Local (14:00 GMT)
Match Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Head to Head
Matches Played: 26, Punjab Kings: 14, Royal Challengers Bangalore: 12
Weather Conditions
The temperatures have been soaring in Ahmedabad as the summer has reached its peak. The temperature is expected to be hovering in 36-33 degree celsius during the evening and the humidity is likely to touch 25 percent at peak. The high temperature is expected to take a toll on the players once again.
Pitch
The pitch so far has proved to be a sportive one as the two encounters have fetched vastly contradicting results. The recent match saw an aggregate of the close of 340 runs and we expect the same for this match-up. With the dew factor expected to play a vital role and the winning speed of 11km/hr working in favor of the pacers, the team winning the toss should look to bowl first.
Team News
The inclusion of Ravi Bishnoi has worked well for the Punjab Kings so far and the find for the right spinner looks to have been answered. The Kings have shown a lot of faith in the West Indian hard-hitter Nicholas Pooran but he is yet to show signs of improvement. With him having a rough patch and the Punjab Kings not in a position to lose matches, It looks likely for the World No.1 T20I batsman- Dawid Malan to make the cut.
Kane Richardson and Adam Zamoa have returned to their homeland citing personal reasons according to the Royal Challengers Bangalore official statement. Although no replacement has been named for Adam Zampa as of yet, New Zealand pacer Scott Kuggelejin has joined the RCB camp as a replacement for Kane Richardson.
Probable playing XI
Punjab Kings (PBKS): KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Fabian, Chris Jordan, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB): Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Washington Sundar, Kyle Jamieson, Daniel Sams, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Must Picks
AB de Villers crossed the 5000 run mark in his iPL career last game and has constantly been one of the best destructors in the tournament. KL Rahul is the highest run-scorer for the Punjab Kings. Deepak Hooda and Devdutt Padikkal are our other must picks.
PBKS vs RCB Fantasy team
Captain and Vice-Captain Picks
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