IPL 2023: Match 27, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) Predicted Playing XI vs Punjab Kings

Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) suffered a damaging home defeat in Indian Premier League 2023 after a narrow loss against rivals Chennai Super Kings in a high-scoring contest. It was the bowling that let down the Banglaore-based franchise as they conceded a mammoth total in the first innings of the high-profile clash. 

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Despite a strong fightback from skipper Faf du Plessis and explosive all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, the home side fell short of the daunting total set by MS Dhoni's men. The RCB skipper will look to extinguish the disappointment of this loss when they travel to Mohali to take on Punjab Kings in their upcoming fixture.

Here's Royal Challengers Bangalore's predicted XI against Punjab Kings:

Openers: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli

Royal Challengers Bangalore's skipper Faf du Plessis led from the front during a mammoth run chase against the Chennai Super Kings. Despite losing two cheap wickets early in the chase, du Plessis kept his foot on the accelerator and stitched a match-turning partnership with Glenn Maxwell.

Former Indian skipper Virat Kohli failed to take advantage of the batting-friendly conditions at Chinnaswamy after he was dismissed by newcomer Akash Singh in the very first over of the chase. His dismissal was a tad unfortunate as the ball ricocheted off his pad and trickled to disturb the bails. He will be looking to get back among the runs in the upcoming fixture against the Punjab Kings.

Middle Order: Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Dinesh Karthik (wk)

Albeit brief, Mahipal Lomror's stay at the crease compounded the home side's poor start to the chase. The 23-year-old batter failed to open his account in the match as he was dismissed for a five-ball duck by Tushar Deshpande in his very first over.

The Men in Red and Gold were in a spot of bother after losing two quick wickets in the powerplay in pursuit of a massive target. However, explosive Aussie all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, who is renowned for taking the attack to the bowlers, launched a scathing assault on the CSK bowlers to bring his side back into the contest. Maxwell smashed 76 runs off just 36 deliveries, which included eight towering sixes.

Dinesh Karthik had the responsibility of taking his side home after the departures of Faf and Maxwell in quick succession. The veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter kept his side in the hunt with a brisk cameo, but his dismissal triggered a mini-collapse that saw his team fall short of the target in an exciting final few overs.

All-rounders: Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga

Shahbaz Ahmed was another batter who failed to capitalise on the great batting conditions on offer at the Chinnaswamy against CSK. The talented Indian all-rounder managed to score just 12 runs off his ten deliveries with the scoreboard pressure telling on the RCB batters. He wasn't used with the ball by RCB during the carnage in the first innings.

Star Sri Lankan spinner Wanindu Hasaranga, who had a phenomenal IPL 2022, has failed to live up to the expectations in the two matches in this year's competition so far. Although he scalped the crucial wicket of the dangerous Ajinkya Rahane, he conceded 21 runs in his two overs, failing to put a lid on the scoring rate. RCB will hope that Hasaranga finds his groove in the upcoming games as he is pivotal for the team's success.

Bowlers: Wayne Parnell, Harshal Patel, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj

It was a forgettable day at the office for veteran Proteas left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell as he leaked 48 runs in his four overs, returning with just a solitary wicket to his name. He had a chance to make amends with the bat later in the match but failed to do so, as he was dismissed for just two runs at the fag end of the chase.

Harshal Patel's IPL 2023 is going from bad to worse with each passing game as the RCB medium-pacer is looking increasingly ineffective with the ball, especially in the death overs, one of his strong suites in the shortest format of the game. Although he managed to remove the well-set Devon Conway with a brilliant dipping yorker, he conceded 36 runs in his 3.2 overs and was barred from completing his full quota of overs after dishing out two waist-height no-balls in the final over of the first innings.

The Indian Premier League does not show any mercy and newcomer Vijaykumar Vyshak also bore the brunt of it in his very second outing in the competition. The local boy, who impressed on his IPL debut against the Delhi Capitals, was smashed to all parts of the ground by the CSK batters as he leaked an astonishing 62 runs in his four overs.

One of RCB's few shining lights in this year's competition so far has been their star Indian pacer, Mohammed Siraj. Siraj has been relentless with the new ball for the Bangalore-based franchise, and it was he who drew the first blood in the high-profile game against CSK after dismissing the in-form Ruturaj Gaikwad in his second over of the match. He was the only bowler in the match to escape punishment, as no other bowler went under eight runs per over.

Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) Probable Playing XI:

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis (c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohammed Siraj, Vijaykumar Vyshak

Royal Challengers Bangalore's (RCB) Probable Impact Players:

Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Avinash Singh, Karn Sharma, Siddarth Kaul