Shikhar Dhawan’s Damage On Punjab Kings’ Thoughts As They Take On Royal Challengers Bangalore | Cricket Information

Punjab Kings (PBKS) can be sweating over skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s damage at a time after they want all their firepower in opposition to an especially powerful however luckless Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match right here on Thursday. Dhawan, 37, who is among the vibrant spots within the PBKS staff, was dominated out in opposition to Lucknow Tremendous Giants (LSG) on April 15 in Lucknow resulting from a shoulder damage and England all-rounder Sam Curran marshalled the facet throughout their two-wicket win on the Ekana Stadium.

There have been a number of unlikely heroes, who put their arms up within the sport, with 36-year-old Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza rising the main run-getter for the facet with a cultured 57, whereas Matthew Brief, Harpreet Singh and Tamil Nadu cricketer M Shahrukh Khan guided the staff to the end line.

However, RCB are a a lot greater risk on paper than LSG, and Curran would know he too might want to come to the occasion with the bat if they’re to defeat Faf du Plessis’ facet and earn two factors at residence.

Curran’s iffy type with the bat has been a priority, as he may handle simply six runs in opposition to LSG, although his three wickets performed a key function in proscribing KL Rahul’s facet to 159/8.

PBKS’ high order appears to be like strong when Dhawan is round, however with a query mark over his health, his opening accomplice Prabhsimran Singh should play sensibly and in addition hope his accomplice performs a accountable knock, which was lacking in opposition to LSG.

Each Prabhsimran (4) and his new opening batter Atharva Taide (0) have been dismissed cheaply, leaving others to shore up the innings.

PBKS’ bowling, although, has stood the sternest of checks this season with their two left-armers — Arshdeep Singh and Curran — on the forefront, whereas South African tempo spearhead Kagiso Rabada has solely added to the efficiency.

Whereas PBKS, at the moment fifth with six factors from 5 outings, have been acting at an optimum stage because the IPL season appears to be like set to enter its fourth weak, the one factor holding them again from making it to the highest is their brittle batting, which has most of the time been shored up by Dhawan — the 99 in opposition to Sunrisers Hyderabad being a working example.

In distinction, RCB have been unfortunate in the case of eking out wins. With skipper du Plessis and Virat Kohli opening the innings, they maybe have the most effective opening pair within the event, barring, after all, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler for Rajasthan Royals.

With Glenn Maxwell coming in at No.4 and Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik and Suyash Prabhudessai following the Australian, RCB bat actually deep. However their largest flaw, sadly, is identical as PBKS — an inconsistent high order.

With Kohli (6) and Mahipal Lomror (0) being dismissed cheaply in opposition to CSK, the onus to rebuild the innings, whereas chasing CSK’s mammoth 226, fell on du Plessis and Maxwell’s shoulders. They did exceptionally effectively on a belter of a wicket in Bengaluru however the staff fell quick by eight runs.

The shut losses have, sadly, left RCB taking a back-seat on the IPL desk — they’re positioned eighth with 4 factors from 5 matches. The facet nonetheless has many alternatives to up its sport and be in competition for the playoffs, however in a fast-paced event just like the IPL, issues change dramatically.

RCB may not have the identical firepower of their bowling as PBKS, however their quicks — Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel and South Africa’s Wayne Parnell — usually are not quick on dedication.

All they want is a few moral-boosting wins to elevate their spirits and put their marketing campaign again on monitor. That might effectively come in opposition to PBKS on Thursday.

Groups (from):

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Gurnoor Brar, Harpreet Brar, Harpreet Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Rathee, Prabhsimran Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, M Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Singh, Matthew Brief, Sikandar Raza, Atharva Taide.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Akash Deep, Finn Allen, Anuj Rawat, Avinash Singh, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Siddarth Kaul, Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammed Siraj, Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Suyash Prabhudessai, Rajan Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Karn Sharma, Himanshu Sharma, Sonu Yadav, Vijaykumar Vyshak, David Willey.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)