IPL 2023, PBKS vs RCB: Pitch report (PCA Stadium)
Match 27 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 will see Punjab Kings tackle Royal Challengers Bangalore. The Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium will host this affair on April 20. While the Kings have three victories in five outings, RCB have two wins in five games. A crunch contest is expected between these two power-packed sides. Here is the pitch report.
How does the track behave?
A high-scoring contest is on the cards as the track here generally favors the batters. Fast bowlers, however, can generate some swing with the new ball. Two games have been played at this venue in IPL 2023 with the teams batting and fielding first winning one game apiece. As this is an afternoon affair, the dew factor would not come into play.
How have PBKS fared at this venue?
Since 2018, PBKS have claimed nine victories in 12 games played in Mohali. Overall, however, they have just 31 victories in 58 matches at this venue. They suffered defeats 27 times. Meanwhile, chasing teams have won 33 of the 58 IPL games played at this location. The average first-innings run rate of 8.40 in IPL here is the testimony of the good batting surface.
A look at the other important stats
The previous outing at this venue saw PBKS almost defend 153 against Gujarat Titans. IPL 2019, the last season which witnessed the home-and-away format, saw chasing teams win four of the seven games here. Four times a total of 190-plus have been successfully chased down here in IPL. The fifth-highest IPL team total of 240/5 was recorded here by Chennai Super Kings in 2008.
Who are the key performers?
Shikhar Dhawan has fared well here, scoring 487 runs in 17 T20 appearances at a strike rate of 128.15. Faf du Plessis has accumulated 218 runs in three IPL games in Mohali at a sensational strike rate of 146.30. Arshdeep Singh has scalped six wickets in four IPL outings here at 19.83. Glenn Maxwell owns 355 runs and five wickets in 22 T20s here.
Here are the Probable XI of these two sides
PBKS Probable XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh. RCB Probable XI: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Josh Hazlewood, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj. Impact players: Prabhsimran Singh (PBKS), Vijaykumar Vyshak (RCB).
