Watch cricket video highlights between Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings. Indian Premier League 2024 fifty eighth match, played at Dharamsala.
at the three IPL matches played at Dharamsala since last year, captains who have won the toss have chosen to bowl, and only once have they gone on to win the match. Even in PBKS’s season-opening match at the same location, Chennai Super Kings were able to effectively defend 167. It is expected to be in the early twenties in Dharamsala.
The victor of Thursday’s game will maintain their narrow chances of qualifying for the postseason, while the loser would become just the second team eliminated this year, after the Mumbai Indians. RCB is a different team in their past five games than they were in their first six. Ever since they fell against Sunrisers Hyderabad by just 25 runs in a 288 chase, their hitters have turned on a switch. The 152 that RCB managed to score in Bengaluru while chasing 148 against Gujarat Titans is their lowest total in the previous five games. They have benefited from the return to form of Faf du Plessis and a consistent top four that includes Rajat Patidar, Will Jacks, Virat Kohli, and du Plessis.
Due to Du Plessis’ two fifty-score innings in the previous five games, RCB was able to score more runs in the opening six overs. In the previous five games, their powerplay run-rate (12.3) has been significantly higher than it was in the first six (8.27). Because of this, they can now field players like Jacks and Patidar in the middle overs. RCB’s run rate has increased as a consequence of their early risks, which occasionally result in wickets but also work in their benefit. They’re hitting the middle overs at 11.03 in matches since April 15 compared to 8.41 in games prior, thanks to improved spin-hitters in the crease.
Another consequence of this batting comeback is that Kohli, who has been reliable since the IPL 2024 began, can now play anything he wants, as seen by the fact that his strike rate has increased from 141.77 in the first six games to 158.15 in the final five games. This is partly the reason that RCB is playing PBKS at a potentially advantageous time. Although PBKS travel quite well, they do not feel very comfortable at home. They have the most home venues of any team, having had three in the previous two seasons: Mullanpur, Dharamsala, and Mohali. They have won one of the six home games in the IPL 2024, but three of the five away games. In the past two seasons, PBKS has had the lowest proportion of home victories. Their IPL 2024 matchup against RCB will be their final one in Dharamsala.
Expect them to play the same lineup that has won two of their last three games, since Shikhar Dhawan has not flown with the team to Dharamsala. After a lengthy absence, Glenn Maxwell made his RCB debut in Ahmedabad, taking a wicket in the team’s victory over Gujarat Titans. He was not needed at bat, though. However, he let a duck pass him in the opposite fixture, continuing his lean run. RCB might stick with him or think about using Reece Topley and his variations on a pitch that helped the slower bowlers in the CSK vs. PBKS game. Once more, it appears that Patidar and Yash Dayal will be the Impact Sub swappers.
When PBKS previously faced RCB, Brar was their most economical bowler, with almost unfathomable statistics of 2 for 13 in a match when the batsmen scored more than nine runs per over. He dismissed Patidar and Maxwell, two of RCB’s finest spinners, but they hadn’t scored enough runs to make it significant. In IPL 2024, only Gujarat Titans (strike rate of 111.87) score worse against left-arm orthodoxy than RCB (119.33). Furthermore, Brar has taken RCB for one-third of his 24 IPL wickets. In their postseason chances, he poses a serious threat.
Jacks has opened for the majority of his 155 T20 innings prior to making his IPL debut. He has, however, made the No. 3 place at RCB his own by batting there despite having inconsistent results. In two of his six innings, he scored a run and a half without conceding an out, while the other four saw him score runs in the single digits. He’ll have his work cut out for him against a bowling attack that has been the most economical in the opening 10 overs of the IPL 2024 and the second-most economical (8.33 to Chennai Super Kings’ 8.07) in the first 16 overs (powerplay and middle overs).
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