The third match of Indian Premier (IPL) 2022 will witness Punjab Kings (PBKS) locking horns with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). These two sides are still in search of their maiden IPL titles. RCB made it to the Eliminator last season but they suffered a loss against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). On the other hand, Punjab Kings ended their journey at the sixth spot on the points table last season. Both the teams have built completely new squads, with new captains.
Faf du Plessis will lead the Bangalore-based franchise while Mayank Agarwal will lead the Punjab Kings side. Virat Kohli will continue to be a part of the RCB as a player. Bangalore’s bowling looks pretty solid with the presence of Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood, and Harshal Patel. Faf du Plessis, Maxwell, and Kohli form the base of their batting. The batting attack of Punjab looks heavy, with the inclusions of Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, and Liam Livingstone apart from Mayank himself.
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Apart from Kagiso Rabada and Odean Smith, PBKS will depend a lot on the Indian bowlers in their bowling department. Both the teams have met a total of 28 times in the history of IPL, where Punjab Kings have made a narrow lead by 15-13 in the head-to-head records. The contest is anticipated to be an evenly poised one, with star cricketers from both teams.
#1 Mayank Agarwal vs Mohammed Siraj
Although Punjab failed to do much in the last season, Mayank Agarwal was at his ferocious best as he smashed 441 runs in 12 matches. He was middling the ball with ease. Mohammed Siraj will be expected to be a reliable bowler for RCB in the tournament so far and his form is the reason behind RCB doing well last season. He will be keen to come back strongly against Punjab. And his battle with Agarwal will be one to look forward to.
#2 Virat Kohli vs Harpreet Brar
Virat Kohli has not been able to do anything special with the batting in the tournament in last season, although the team had reached the ‘Playoffs’, Virat Kohli will be expected to bat better this year. On the other hand, even for Harpreet Brar, the tournament did not bring many results last season. The franchise would expect Brar to be at its best in this season.
#3 Shahrukh Khan vs Harshal Patel
Even as PBKS had failed to qualify for the playoffs in last season, newcomer Shahrukh Khan will be expected to make a mark for himself. Though his knocks weren’t enough for PBKs to win in 20221, it did give a hint of the talent Khan possesses. At the end of the match against RCB, Khan could come up against Harshal Patel.
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With his experience and expertise, Harshal would obviously have the advantage over the relatively inexperienced PBKS batsman. But Shahrukh seems to have a good temperament and could be a dark horse against Patel.
