Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings, 48th Match IPL 2021 – Who Will Win Today’s Match?

Match Scorecard

Team Lineup

Match Prediction – RCB vs PBKS, 48th Match IPL 2021 – Who Will Win Today’s Match?

This is the first afternoon game for both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the UAE leg as they square off in match number 48 of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Punjab have had the upper hand in the recent past against RCB and have won their last three games against Virat Kohli and co.

After losing two games in a row to kickstart the second leg, RCB have roared back into form and have won two games in a row. What’s more is that these wins have come without any sort of contribution from AB de Villiers.

Skipper Virat Kohli and Devdutt Padikkal have fared well at the top while Glenn Maxwell has come to the party really nicely. KS Bharat has fit in well at 3 as well. The bowling has come together effectively too.

Their only concern may be the lack of wickets in the powerplay and the opening partnerships that the opposition teams have been getting. With 14 points, they need just one more win to seal a spot in the playoffs.

On the other hand, PBKS have five wins and seven losses at the moment. They have won two and lost two in the UAE leg and they are coming off a morale-boosting win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

The KL Rahul-led side seem to have finally got their combination right and it seems a lot more balanced and well-rounded. Mohammed Shami and Arshdeep Singh have led the bowling attack superbly while Ravi Bishnoi is the X-factor in that bowling attack.

Despite that, they have a lot of work to do. Punjab need to win every game to stand a chance of making it to the playoffs.

Join us for our IPL prediction today . Complete with latest team lineup, head to heads and odds checker.

Team News

Royal Challengers Bangalore

RCB have all their players fit and available for this game. They may not make a lot of changes to the XI that won against RR. They could possibly look at getting Tim David in for Daniel Christian and bolstering their batting.

Punjab Kings

Chris Gayle has left the bio-bubble and is unavailable for the rest of the tournament. Fabien Allen hurt his ankle and was limping. He may not be fit in time for this game. Chris Jordan could find a place in the playing XI and Adil Rashid could also make a comeback given the low and slow Sharjah surface.

Predicted XI

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Srikar Bharat (wk), Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers, Daniel Christian/Tim David, George Garton, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (c & wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen/Chris Jordan, Nathan Ellis/Adil Rashid, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh

Key players

KL Rahul : KL Rahul has been a vital part of Punjab’s batting line-up and they have relied on him and Mayank Agarwal heavily. While the PBKS skipper’s strike-rate and intent has constantly been in question, he has managed to pile on the runs.

He has amassed 489 runs at an average of 54.33 and has smashed five half-centuries in 11 innings this season. In addition to this, he loves playing against RCB. In his last three knocks against RCB, Rahul has scores of 132 (69), 61 (49) and 91 (57) and wasn’t dismissed in any of these knocks.

AB de Villiers : AB de Villiers hasn’t fired in this UAE leg of the IPL 2021. The South African superstar has scores of 0, 12, 11 and 4 not out in his last four knocks. This is quite rare for someone like de Villiers who has been supremely consistent over the last few seasons.

Besides, he has a solid record against Punjab. He has aggregated 713 runs at an average of 44.56 and a strike-rate of 156.70. Hence, de Villiers could well be the one to watch out for in this game.

For more information, check the fun88in.in Betting RCB vs PBKS Prediction and head-to-head analysis.

Our Recommended Sportsbooks

© fun88in.in Betting