It is a double-header Thursday in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and the first match will be played at the PCA IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). PBKS and RCB have struggled with consistency in IPL 2023 so far. Both teams find themselves in the lower half of the point table, having played five matches each in the competition.
Punjab Kings hold the fifth position with three wins from five games, while the Royal Challengers Bangalore are eighth in the standings with just a couple of wins in five outings. PBKS and RCB have had a great rivalry in the IPL so far. Their matches have always been entertaining for the fans. The upcoming battle between the two franchises promises to be a spectacular one as well.
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With the expectation of an entertaining clash, We will look at the player matchups between the Punjab Kings and the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
#1 Arshdeep Singh vs Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli has struggled a bit while playing against the left-arm fast bowlers. Punjab Kings have India’s top left-arm pacer, Arshdeep Singh, in their squad. Singh has been phenomenal for the franchise in the last couple of seasons, but he has never dismissed Kohli. Kohli has scored 24 runs off 13 balls against Singh at a strike rate of almost 180. It will be interesting to see if Kohli can maintain his good record against the PBKS pacer.
#2 Shikhar Dhawan vs Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj has been the top performer for RCB. The Indian pacer has troubled batters a lot in the powerplay overs. In the absence of Josh Hazlewood, Siraj has been delivering goods for RCB. He will be up against Shikhar Dhawan. Dhawan has been the backbone of PBKS’ batting lineup in IPL 2023. Siraj has dismissed Dhawan once in the IPL while conceding 35 runs off 27 balls. Their battle in the powerplay will surely be entertaining for the fans.Â
#3 Sam Curran vs Harshal Patel
Punjab Kings all-rounder Sam Curran has the responsibility to score runs in the slog overs. Harshal Patel, on the other hand, is the lead death bowler for the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Patel and Curran have never faced each other, but their matchups will be interesting one during the slog overs of PBKS’ innings today. Patel had a forgettable outing against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Monday, where he was taken out of the attack after bowling two waist-high no-balls.
