IPL match today, RCB vs PBKS: Team prediction, head-to-head, Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch report, Bengaluru weather update

Rajat Patidar-led Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will lock horns against Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Match No. 34 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday. RCB are currently placed at the third position, whereas Punjab are at fourth.

As a team, Punjab will be high on confidence after their 16-run win over KKR in a recent low-scoring thriller. But they will be well aware that RCB, which has depth in batting and bowling, will be a harder opponent to overcome.

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Two former RCB players, Yuzvendra Chahal and Glenn Maxwell, will have noticed Bengaluru batters' struggle against slow bowlers R Sai Kishore, Kuldeep Yadav, and Vipraj Nigam in Bengaluru. RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik mentioned after their loss against Delhi Capitals that the Chinnaswamy pitch was surprisingly on the slower side, and both Chahal and Maxwell will be eager to exploit that.

Chahal, fresh from his four-wicket haul against Kolkata Knight Riders, is a master of lengths rather than of "magic balls." The leg-spinner lures with offerings wide of off-stump, and the batters need to reach out to the ball for big hits, often resulting in catches in the deep.

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RCB vs PBKS: Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch report

After RCB's consecutive losses, Dinesh Karthik hinted that the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch has not delivered what the team management desires. “In the first two games, we have asked for good pitches. But it’s turned out in this way where it’s been challenging to bat on for sure. So we try and do the best with whatever we get," Karthik had said. “This is not a pitch that’s helping the batters too much. It’s a challenging pitch. That has been the case in both the games that we have played." The Chinnaswamy Stadium pitch has historically been a batter's paradise, but in this year's IPL, it has been a bit tricky. When asked if the RCB team management will follow up with the curator, Karthik replied, “We will obviously have a chat with him, and we trust him to do his job.”



RCB vs PBKS playing XI prediction

RCB predicted XI: Phil Salt, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Tim David, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Josh Hazlewood, Yash Dayal

RCB Impact sub: Suyash Sharma

PBKS predicted XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Josh Inglis (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Impact Sub: Yash Thakur

RCB vs PBKS: Head-to-head

Total matches played: 33

RCB won: 16

PBKS won: 17

The forecast for Friday indicates that the sky will be mostly clear. Temperatures are expected to range from approximately 28 to 34 degrees Celsius. It is important to note that dew is expected to be a factor, especially in the second innings. This can make it difficult for bowlers to grip the ball.

RCB vs PBKS: Livestreaming details

The broadcast of RCB vs PBKS will be available on Star Sports Network. The live streaming will be available on JioCinema.

Squads

Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar (c), Virat Kohli, Yash Dayal, Josh Hazlewood, Phil Salt, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Liam Livingstone, Rasikh Salam, Suyash Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Swapnil Singh, Tim David, Romario Shepherd, Nuwan Thushara, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethel, Devdutt Padikkal, Swastik Chhikara, Lungi Ngidi, Abhinandan Singh, Mohit Rathee.

Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Yash Thakur, Suryansh Shedge, Praveen Dubey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Azmatullah Omarzai, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash.