Indian Premier League 2021 – PBKS vs BLR 26th T20 match – which is going to be played between Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.

Fantasy Preview –

When the tournament commenced, Anil Kumble, the PBKS head coach, had observed, “I’m really glad that we have got Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith backing Chris Jordan” in the pace department. However, things haven’t gone according to plan with both the Australian fast bowlers combining to pick just five scalps between them. On a slightly tacky surface, where KKR’s pacemen found some life, PBKS seemed to lack that extra bite. For the game against RCB, the think-tank may just be tempted to bring one out of Meredith or Richardson to reduce the burden on Mohammed Shami of carrying the pace attack.

RCB, meanwhile, have been the early risers of the tournament. Even after the loss to CSK, they bounced back by clinching a one-run thriller versus Delhi Capitals. In AB de Villiers, they have a batsman who shuts out all the noise while batting in the middle, and explores every corner of the ground. He was at it once more, with a game-defining 75 versus DC. To add a layer of intrigue is IPL’s underachiever, Glenn Maxwell, shining brightly for RCB. More importantly, on the bowling front, their tactical gambits in the slog overs have worked. Mohammed Siraj has cracked the code of bowling the wide yorker. Despite Harshal Patel coming for severe punishment against CSK, he has been a vital cog in their plans. Kyle Jamieson too has chipped in with wickets. For RCB, it is a case of continuing with the good habits picked up over the last few weeks.

Pitch Report –

Ahmedabad has about 11 pitches – six red soil ones and five made up of black soil. The black soil pitches used in India are usually on the slower side. The tracks at this venue in this IPL have been a touch tacky with tall pace bowlers extracting tennis ball bounce.

Head 2 Head –

• PBKS – 14
• RCB – 12

PBKS also won both their games against RCB last season.

Player Availability:

RCB have already roped in Scott Kuggeleijn to mitigate the loss of Kane Richardson. RCB look set to play the same XI that overcame DC. The one slight area of concern is Virat Kohli’s form. The RCB skipper has had a middling season so far, with 163 runs and at a strike rate of 126.35.

Player Match-ups

• KL Rahul averages the highest (74.2) and has the best strike rate (155.23) against RCB. From RCB’s point of view, they could employ Washington Sundar’s off-spin to keep Rahul quiet. Even though the sample size is small, Rahul has scored only 17 runs off 18 balls while facing Sundar in the IPL. Another interesting match-up is Mayank Agarwal versus Yuzvendra Chahal, with the former accumulating 56 off just 27 balls against the leg-spinner in the IPL.
• De Villiers has been RCB’s go-to man in the slog overs. Between overs 16 to 20, his strike rate was 231.58 versus MI, 261.9 against KKR, and 235 vs DC. KKR tried to use Andre Russell to stop de Villiers’ pyrotechnics. The template was for Russell to bowl yorkers from round the wicket and wide of the off-stump. However, he was poor in his execution. PBKS has Arshdeep Singh in their ranks to try that particular tactic. Incidentally, PBKS have taken the lowest number of wickets in the slog this season and have conceded 10.24 runs per over in that period.

Things To Know –

RCB’s five wins is the most they have managed in their first six matches of an IPL season.

Probable Playing XI

PBKS – KL Rahul (c, wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Dawid Malan/Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan/Riley Meredith, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

BLR – Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj

BabaCric Expert Dream11 Team

Pre Analyzed Dream11 Team – PBKS vs BLR

• Note – The team may change any time after the toss, if there are any changes please change immediately or you can join us on our official Telegram channel the link given down after the article.
• The team is based on player points with recent player stats also the team is based on real inner sanctum which helps to predict the team better.
• You can change the team if you have any doubt over it also feel free to comment to us.

Team – 1

C & VC Selection –

• C – V Kohli, KL Rahul, G Maxwell, D Paddikal, D Sams, D Malan
• VC – Ab de Villiers, W Sundar, N Pooran, M Agrawal