The 60th match of the IPL 2022 will see the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) taking on Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Brabourne stadium on May 13, 2022. RCB are currently 4th on the points table with 14 points from 12 matches, while PBKS are 8th with 10 points from 11 matches.
A win here for RCB will take them one step closer to the playoffs, while a win here for PBKS will take them to 12 points and bring some commotion in the middle part of the points table which sees Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Delhi Capitals (DC) also trying to make it into the playoffs.
Keeping this in mind, here is the COC predicted playing XIs for the RCB v PBKS match.
ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE
The RCB team has two matches to play including this one and wins in both of them will result in them finishing with 18 points and a place in the playoffs. They are facing Punjab Kings (PBKS) who are struggling in the lower middle half of the points table.
Faf du Plessis fancies playing against PBKS with 702 runs in 13 innings and they have got players like Glenn Maxwell, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Mahipal Lomror in very good batting form. Virat Kohli should just focus on getting some runs in his kitty forgetting about his form.
Bowling is led brilliantly by Josh Hazlewood and Wanindu Hasaranga. While Hazlewood is miserly with his economy and picked wickets upfront, Hasaranga has done his job brilliantly of picking wickets in middle overs and giving advantage to RCB.
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Mohammed Siraj has been out of form and expensive, but still one of their best bets.
PUNJAB KINGS
Punjab Kings (PBKS) is returning after a five-day break, having lost against Rajasthan Royals in their last outing. Jonny Bairstow opening the innings has been a positive for PBKS, who along with Bhanuka Rajapaksa has given flying starts to the team, while Shikhar Dhawan has anchored one end.
Mayank Agarwal has not found form with the bat in the tournament despite some good starts, while Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma have been at their destructive best, ending innings for PBKS on a high.
However, with an economy rate of 8.65 this season, Punjab Kings have been the second-most expensive bowling side behind Mumbai Indians. This means Agarwal’s use of Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh, their two best bowlers becomes extremely important in this scenario.
PBKS is not officially out of the race for playoffs but a loss here will dent their chances a lot.
RCB COC Predicted Playing XI:
Faf du Plessis (C), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mahipal Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Josh Hazlewood
PBKS COC Predicted Playing XI:
Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mayank Agarwal (C), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rishi Dhawan, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma
