PBKS vs RCB: Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore lock horns against each other in the 27th match of IPL 2023. PBKS and RCB have three and two wins, respectively in the five matches that they have played in the tournament so far. Meanwhile, PBKS look to bag another win at their home Mohali but are missing the services of captain Shikhar Dhawan. Notably, Sam Curran has provided an update on him.
Why Dhawan is out of the team?
Shikhar Dhawan suffered a shoulder injury and missed the previous game too for PBKS. Dhawan underwent a test on the eve of the match but is probably not yet completely match-fit to play against RCB. Curran at the toss revealed the status of Dhawan. "We will be bowling first, did well in the previous game and we'll take some confidence from it. Conditions will not change a lot. Shikhar is getting closer, but he'll miss out today. He's a quality player, but the younger players will have to shape up, Livingstone is back and we have Ellis back in place of KG," Curran said at the toss.
Punjab won the toss and opted to bowl first against Bangalore. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli was named captain of RCB as Faf du Plessis is not fit enough to field. Interestingly, Virat has taken the captaincy again for the team after he stepped down from the role after the completeion of the 2021 season. Fans failed to keep calm after they came to know during the toss about Virat being the skipper instead of Faf du Plessis at the IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali.
PBKS' Playing XI:
Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran(c), Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
RCB's Playing XI:
Virat Kohli(c), Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Wanindu Hasaranga, Suyash Prabhudessai, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Mohammed Siraj