Punjab Kings (PBKS) can be sweating over skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s damage at a time after they want all their firepower towards an especially robust however luckless Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match right here on Thursday. Dhawan, 37, who is among the brilliant spots within the PBKS crew, was dominated out towards Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 15 in Lucknow attributable to a shoulder damage and England all-rounder Sam Curran marshalled the aspect throughout their two-wicket win on the Ekana Stadium.

There had been a number of unlikely heroes, who put their arms up within the recreation, with 36-year-old Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza rising the main run-getter for the aspect with a sophisticated 57, whereas Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh and Tamil Nadu cricketer M Shahrukh Khan guided the crew to the end line.

But, RCB are a a lot greater risk on paper than LSG, and Curran would know he too might want to come to the occasion with the bat if they’re to defeat Faf du Plessis’ aspect and earn two factors at dwelling.

Curran’s iffy type with the bat has been a priority, as he may handle simply six runs towards LSG, although his three wickets performed a key function in proscribing KL Rahul’s aspect to 159/8.

PBKS’ high order seems stable when Dhawan is round, however with a query mark over his health, his opening accomplice Prabhsimran Singh must play sensibly and in addition hope his accomplice performs a accountable knock, which was lacking towards LSG.

Both Prabhsimran (4) and his new opening batter Atharva Taide (0) had been dismissed cheaply, leaving others to shore up the innings.

PBKS’ bowling, although, has stood the sternest of assessments this season with their two left-armers — Arshdeep Singh and Curran — on the forefront, whereas South African tempo spearhead Kagiso Rabada has solely added to the efficiency.

While PBKS, presently fifth with six factors from 5 outings, have been acting at an optimum stage because the IPL season seems set to enter its fourth weak, the one factor holding them again from making it to the highest is their brittle batting, which has as a rule been shored up by Dhawan — the 99 towards Sunrisers Hyderabad being a living proof.

In distinction, RCB have been unfortunate relating to eking out wins. With skipper du Plessis and Virat Kohli opening the innings, they maybe have the most effective opening pair within the match, barring, after all, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler for Rajasthan Royals.

With Glenn Maxwell coming in at No.4 and Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik and Suyash Prabhudessai following the Australian, RCB bat actually deep. But their largest flaw, sadly, is identical as PBKS — an inconsistent high order.

With Kohli (6) and Mahipal Lomror (0) being dismissed cheaply towards CSK, the onus to rebuild the innings, whereas chasing CSK’s mammoth 226, fell on du Plessis and Maxwell’s shoulders. They did exceptionally properly on a belter of a wicket in Bengaluru however the crew fell quick by eight runs.

The shut losses have, sadly, left RCB taking a back-seat on the IPL desk — they’re positioned eighth with 4 factors from 5 matches. The aspect nonetheless has many alternatives to up its recreation and be in competition for the playoffs, however in a fast-paced match just like the IPL, issues change dramatically.

RCB won’t have the identical firepower of their bowling as PBKS, however their quicks — Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and South Africa’s Wayne Parnell — are usually not quick on dedication.

All they want is a few moral-boosting wins to elevate their spirits and put their marketing campaign again on observe. That may properly come towards PBKS on Thursday.

Teams (from):

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Harpreet Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Prabhsimran Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, M Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Singh, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Atharva Taide.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Akash Deep, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat, Avinash Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Siddarth Kaul, Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajan Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karn Sharma, Himanshu Sharma, Sonu Yadav, Vijaykumar Vyshak, David Willey.

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