RCB has made injured and issues in both batting and bowling departments. Also, some of his foreign players are also unavailable.
Punjab Kings (PBK) have ended the group stage at the top. This is no coincidence. It is not luck that they have taken them where they are. Punjab will face Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Qualifier 1 on 29 May, which will be held in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 finals. And they will enter the match as a favorite. This is because the pounds for the pound are better than the pbks RCB.
Kohli-Sult did it out?
If we only see the opener, then Virat Kohli and Phil Salat of RCB can be secretly secretly. But if we do the factor number and make it a top-order battle, then PBK is no less and if the facts may be slightly forward. This is because Captain Shres Iyer is a bats at number three in the majority of matches.
With priansh Arya’s destructiveness and Prabhasimran Singh’s continuity, you can see how PBKs can match Kohli and Salt’s initial partnership. For number three of RCB, he has Mayank Agarwal. He played well against Lucknow Super Veterans, but mentioned all six players, he is the weakest.
RCB injury and middle-order crisis
Except for Patidar, RCB does not have a middle order. And not only the Patidar is injured, not played the last game, he is also out of form. RCB captain’s final 25+ score was on 7 April. Jitesh Sharma may have played a lifetime innings, but he is a finisher. And so Tim David and Romario are Shepherd. And talking about David, we do not know if he is fit.
Meanwhile, PBKs have Josh England and Nehal Wadhera in the middle-order, both are in the best IPL form of career. And to match RCB finishers, PBK has Marcus Stoinis, who scored 16 and 44 runs from Delhi Capital and Shashank Singh, one of the most proven finishers in the league.
Krunal-Suyash, Better than Chahal-Ben
Yuzvendra Chahal has not done well for PBK, and may be injured, but he has got 9 more wickets than Suyash Sharma. Yes, RCB’s leggie has been more economical, but he is not taking wickets. Krunal Pandya is a better pick than Harpreet Barr due to his batting. So, RCB can be ahead here.
Jansen Missing, Hazelwood’s fitness
This is Josh Hazelwood or nothing for RCB. Since the beginning of May, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has taken 2 wickets at 72 in the last 3 matches. Yash Dayal is worse, 1 wicket in 121 in 3 matches. The issue is that Hazelwood has not been played since April 27, and we do not know how well it has cured. Lungi cash has also returned.
For PBKS, Arshdeep Singh is not in his best performance in the last three matches, but he is still among the top five wickets. Marco Jansen was extraordinary, but he is back. Kyle Jaimison, Azmatullah Omarjai and Xavier Bartlet are options, but none of them are good as Jansen. Vijayakumar Vyashak has played the role of the third pacer well and is not worried.
Among all, PBK seems to be behind only in spin department and is not too much. Pacer bowling unit can be given on-money and hazelwood may have fitness. But when it comes to batting, Pbks are ahead of RCB.
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