RCB vs pbks Qualifier 1: Shreyas Iyer’s motivational leadership ability will be the most difficult test ever when Punjab Kings will host Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), another enthusiast in the first qualifier of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here on Thursday. After getting a place in the top two, both these teams are expected to reach the finals as they will get another chance to make a place in the title match despite losing the first qualifier.
Punjab Kings have made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2014. The credit goes to the pair of Iyer and Ricky Ponting (head coach) who changed the culture of the team to a new form.
On the other hand, RCB suffered defeat several times in the knockout phase and this time it is expecting to end the drought of the title. In his own words, the work for both the contenders for the title is still half.
The pair of Iyer-Pontting have brought a great change in Punjab Kings and the team has done well from the beginning to the end in the league stage. This combination has been successful in getting the best performance from the players, making it a strong team.
The opening pair of Prabhasimran Singh and Priyansh Arya have prepared a platform for players like Iyer and Josh Englandis.
Finisher Shashank Singh has continuously improved his game, while Australian player Marcus Stoinis has made his batting stronger by detecting his ability with the bat.
The matter of concern for Punjab is the bowling department, especially after South African fast bowler Marco Janson, who has returned home to play for the national team. Jansan threw important overs in Powerplay and Death overs and the team will definitely miss them.
Kyle Jameson has raised some hope in the first match, but he will have to bowl better to leave an impact. All -rounder Ajmatullah Omrajai can also replace Yansan.
Leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had not been able to play in the last two matches due to a finger injury. He is expected to return to this important match and make a strong pair with Harpreet Brar, who always bowled accurately.
Arshdeep Singh has been a long -time fast bowler for his franchise and has done well in all stages of the game.
RCB was also concerned about the injury of some players in the final stages of the tournament but it has gone away to a great extent.
Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is expected to be fully fit and Tim David will also be available for selection, which will bring more balance in the team.
RCB has been dependent on its top -order batsmen for the past several years, but after showing its ability in the middle order of players like Jitesh Sharma, it seems that it is changing. Jitesh played the best innings of his IPL career on Tuesday night and his confidence will be on the seventh sky before going to the playoffs.
From the team’s point of view, it will be important to bat his best explosive in Phil Salat Powerplay and Virat Kohli keeps batting in the same way that he has been doing throughout the session.
The RCB will try to take inspiration from its victory over Punjab Kings on this ground at the league stage. The behavior of the pitch here has still been unpredictable. 200 runs have been scored only once in the first innings of the four matches played here.
But Punjab Kings would be confident of winning their home ground as it successfully defended the target of 111 runs against Kolkata Knight Riders here last month.
Both teams will try to make it to the finals from this first step. In this match, the losing team will take on the winner of the eliminator between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians in the second qualifier.
RCB vs pbks fantasy 11
Wicketkeeper – Jitesh Sharma, Josh English
Batsman – Phil Salt, Virat Kohli (captain), Shreyas Iyer, Priyansh Arya
All-rounder- Krunal Pandya (Vice-captain), Marcus Stonis
Bowler – Josh Hazlewood, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh
RCB vs pbks head to head
RCB and PBKS have faced each other in 35 matches in the IPL. Out of these 35 matches, RCB has won 17 while PBKS won on 18 occasions.
The teams are as follows:
Punjab Kings: Nehal Vadhera, Haranur Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Mushir Khan, Paila Avinash, Prabhasimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Josh English, Marcus Stoinis, Praveen Dubey, Priyansh Arya, Ajmatullah Umarjai, Aaron Hardi, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shadege, Shashank Singh, Yujande Singh, Jewier Bartlet, Kuldeep Sen, Vijaykumar Vishak, Yash Thakur, Mitchell Owen, Kyle Jeemison.
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar (Captain), Swastik Chikara, Jitesh Sharma, Philip Salt, Manoj Bhandage, Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Liam Livingstone, Romario Shepherd, Jacob Betail, Swapnil Singh, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Josh Hajalwood, Josh Handalwood, Nalwani, Jashtha Dar Dar Salam, Suyash Sharma, Mohit Rathi, Abhinandan Singh, Mayank Agarwal, Blessing Mujarabani, Tim Cifrt.
The match will begin at 7.30 pm.
