IPL 2022: RCB vs PBKS preview, Will Virat Kohli gets his mojo back with the bat?

In a search of their elusive IPL title, a refurbished Punjab(PBKS) Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) will begin their campaign on Sunday at DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai. Both the teams have a new captain at the helm of affairs but one with loads of experience while the other has none. RCB appointed Faf du Plessis after bagging the South African for Rs 7 crore while Punjab gave the captaincy to Mayank Agarwal.

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However, all eyes will be on Virat Kohli who is going through a lean patch. Fans would be hoping that Kohli would come out all guns blazing after captaincy's burden is off his shoulders. Captain Faf du Plessis will be also fretting over the Royal Challengers Bangalore(RCB) Playing XI given two of his international players are not available for their IPL opener. Glenn Maxwell will miss the game as he gets married recently while Josh Hazlewood is on national duty.

On the other hand, Punjab Kings will dearly miss the services of Jonny Bairstow and Kagiso Rabada. Bairstow is representing England in West Indies for the Test series while Rabada has just finished his international assignment. Without Rabada, Punjab Kings' bowling unit looks very thin.

RCB vs PBKS Playing XI predictions

RCB Playing XI: Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Finn Allen, Dinesh Karthik, Mahipal Lomror, Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Shahbaz Ahmed, David Willey, Mohammed Siraj.

PBKS Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (c), Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Odean Smith, Harpreet Brar/Sandeep Sharma, Odeon Smith, Rahul Chahar and Arshdeep Singh

RCB vs PBKS head-to-head

Going into the match, Punjab Kings have a slight advantage over RCB given they have won 15 matches while RCB managed to win 13. In the last five meetings between the two teams, Punjab has won three.

RCB vs PBKS match timings

RCB vs PBKS live match will begin at 7:30 pm IST while the toss will take place at 30 minutes before the scheduled start of play.