The Royal Challengers Bengaluru suffered a saddening loss in their first match of the 2024 IPL against Chennai Super Kings. However, Faf du Plessis’s men will be looking forward to grabbing their first victory of the tournament against Punjab Kings.
The Kings defeated Rishabh Pant’s Delhi Capitals in their opening match in the 17th edition of the Indian Premier League on Saturday in Mohali. However, they will be travelling to RCB’s home, M Chinnaswamy Stadium for the sixth match of the tournament, which will take place on Monday.
What has happened so far?
With the addition of Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, and Yash Dayal, the Royal Challengers’ playing XII looked strong in the first match. However, playing at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium against Chennai Super Kings, Bengaluru started their campaign with a loss.
After winning the toss, Faf du Plessis decided to bat first in their inaugural match. However, Mustafizur Rahman’s bowling quickly became a huge problem for the three-time IPL runner-ups.
Nevertheless, a reliable 95-run partnership between Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik guided Bengaluru towards a total of 173 runs. The target turned out to be a comfortable score for Chennai as after Rachin Ravindra’s fiery 37-run innings, the winning runs were scored by Shivam Dube as the five-time IPL champions won the game in the 18th over.
Meanwhile, Punjab Kings faced Delhi Capitals in their opening match, which took place in Mohali. Shikhar Dhawan retained his captaincy at Punjab while Rishabh Pant made his much-awaited return to cricket. With the addition of the likes of Harshal Patel, the Kings tried to fill the gaps in their bowling which caused them problems during the last season and it feels like they are on the right path.
Batting first, Delhi posted a target of 175 for the Kings, thanks to a brilliant 32-run knock by impact player Abishek Porel. However, with Mukesh Sharma’s absence and Ishant Sharma suffering an injury after bowling only two overs, DC’s bowling line-up looked weak. Hence the partnership of Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone guided Punjab towards their first victory of the season by four wickets.
Head to Head Record
Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings have locked horns against each other on a total of 31 occasions. Interestingly, the Kings have been the more dominant side in the rivalry with 17 wins. On the other side, the Royal Challengers have managed to record 14 wins.
Last season, the two sides faced each other only once and the match took place at the IS Bindra Cricket Stadium in Mohali. In the first innings, Faf du Plessis played a brilliant 89-run knock. Moreover, with the help of Mohammed Siraj’s four-wicket haul, the victory was sealed by Bengaluru with a margin of 24 runs.
Key Players
Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik built a brilliant partnership of 95 runs off 50 balls against CSK to guide Bengaluru to a total of 173
Anuj Rawat (Royal Challengers Bengaluru): Anuj Rawat played an astounding 48-run knock against Ruturaj Gaikwad’s Chennai Super Giants on Friday. The Indian batter was the Royal Challengers’ highest scorer in the game and he also played a huge role in guiding his side towards a fighting total after Mustafizur Rahman picked up four wickets in his initial two overs.
Rawat walked on the pitch in the 11th over after Rajat Patidar and Glenn Maxwell lost their wickets on duck and Cameron Green played a slow innings of 18 runs in 22 deliveries. The 24-year-old smashed four boundaries and three maximums before getting run out on the last delivery of the first innings by MS Dhoni.
Sam Curran (Punjab Kings): Before the 2024 mini-auction, Sam Curran was the most expensive buy in the history of the tournament as he was bought by the Punjab Kings for a mammoth sum of ₹18.5 crore. Hence, his reliable performance in the last match was a huge sigh of relief.
The English all-rounder scored a spectacular half-century against the Capitals and stood on the crease as an anchor. In 47 deliveries, he scored 63 runs and built a 67-run partnership with Liam Livingstone. Curran also bowled an over, where he conceded ten runs, without taking a wicket.
Team News from Both Camps
RCB has no injury issues but the form of Rajat Patidar might be concerning for head coach Andy Flower who could promote Green to No.3 to add some muscle to the top order.
On the other hand, the Kings’ management should be very happy with the way their top order is shaping up. Head of cricket development, Sanjay Bangar knows almost every player’s chinks in the armor after serving as the head coach of RCB for two seasons.
Predicted XIs
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis ©, Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Anuj Rawat (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Karn Sharma, Mayank Dagar, Alzarri Joseph, Mohammed Siraj
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan ©, Prabhsimran Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
Prediction
Despite suffering a defeat in the first match of the season against CSK, du Plessis’s men will be keeping their morale high by looking forward to winning the second match. Hence, playing at home, the Royal Challengers are likely to record a win over Punjab Kings.