Will Du Plessis use Dinesh Karthik as Impact Player once again? Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings Likely XI

RCB face PBKS in their upcoming IPL 2024 match, in Bengaluru on Monday. Here are their likely XIs.

Aiming to bounce back to winning ways, Royal Challengers Bangalore take on Punjab Kings in their second IPL 2024 fixture, at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Monday. RCB crumbled against Chennai Super Kings in the season opener, and now face a side, who began their campaign with a resounding win against Delhi Capitals.

RCB were dismantled by Mustafizur Rahman in their opener, and are now against Arshdeep Singh, who also boasts similar qualities. The only positive element in their opening defeat was Anuj Rawat’s dominating batting display. After RCB were reduced to 78/5, Rawat hammered 48 off 25 balls to revive their innings. He will be hoping to build on his form and replicate his previous performance. If replicated, he will solve RCB’s death-overs issues. They were the second-slowest batting side in that phase in IPL 2023.

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Virat Kohli has a good IPL record vs Arshdeep, having slammed him for 44 off 23 balls, with zero dismissals. For Kohli, the main challenge could be Harpreet Brar. Brar has dismissed Kohli twice in this competition. But on the other hand, RCB skipper Faf du Plessis has a good record against Brar, smacking him for 79 off 46 balls, with zero dismissals.

Meanwhile, Du Plessis is also expected to rely on Dinesh Karthik and Yash Dayal for the Impact Player rule, depending on the situation. Karthik put in a good partnership with Rawat in their last game.

RCB Likely XI (if batting first): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Anuj Rawat (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj

RCB Likely XI (if bowling first): Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Anuj Rawat (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal

Punjab Kings eye momentum

Punjab Kings boast a strong batting line-up, filled with power-hitters and it was proved in their opening win vs DC. They will be hoping for Shikhar Dhawan to be in good batting form. Meanwhile, the pressure will be on Arshdeep, who will be expected to be their main bowler. But the ball is unlikely to grip in the stadium, especially during a night match.

Kagiso Rabada could be key for PBKS, having a strong record against RCB’s Kohli, Du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. He has dismissed Kohli four times in all T20s, and has removed Du Plessis and Maxwell thrice each.

Another key match-up will be between Jonny Bairstow and Mohammed Siraj. The Englishman has a strike rate of 230 against Siraj, and hasn’t been dismissed. Harshal Patel, who will be returning to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, has a career economy rate of 11.31 in death overs at this venue.

Meanwhile, Dhawan is expected to rely on Arshdeep and Prabhsimran Singh for the Impact Player role, which also depends on the situation.

PBKS Likely XI (if batting first): Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar

PBKS Likely XI (if bowling first): Shikhar Dhawan (c), Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

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