IPL 2023, PBKS vs RCB: Decoding the key player battles
Match number 27 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season sees Punjab Kings face Royal Challengers Bangalore in Mohali. The bowlers are expected to get some movement with the new ball. Slower deliveries will be effective on this surface and spinners could play a crucial role. Therefore, individual battles can dictate the match at crucial junctures.
Arshdeep Singh versus Faf du Plessis
PBKS pacer Arshdeep Singh will be keen to outfox an in-form Faf du Plessis early on. As per ESPNcricinfo, Faf has scored 48 runs from 32 balls against left-arm pacer Arshdeep. He has a strike rate of 150 and an average of 48.00. Arshdeep has dismissed Faf once across four innings to date.
Rahul Chahar vs Glenn Maxwell
PBKS spinner Rahul Chahar has a tall task to stop a free-flowing Glenn Maxwell. Maxwell has been in defiant mode, striking at over 195 in the ongoing season. Maxwell, who can go big against the spinners, has amassed 65 runs from 44 balls against Chahar at a strike rate of 147.72. Chahar has managed to dismiss Maxwell on two counts.
Mohammed Siraj vs Shikhar Dhawan
RCB pacer Mohammed Siraj has accounted for eight scalps in IPL 2023 (ER: 7.00). He will be aiming to claim the key wicket of Shikhar Dhawan early on. Dhawan has 233 runs from four games so far. In the IPL, Siraj has given away just 35 runs from 27 balls, claiming Dhawan's scalp once. Dhawan carries a strike rate of 129.62.
Wanindu Hasaranga vs Liam Livingstone
RCB spinner Wanindu Hasaranga will be keen to stop someone like Liam Livingstone, who can take the game away in a flash. Livingstone has so far faced 13 deliveries from Hasaranga in the IPL, scoring 13 runs. He is yet to be dismissed. Livingstone has managed just one boundary (six) off Hasaranga's bowling.
