Key match stats
Pitch Stats – IS Bindra Stadium
Average first innings score: 166
Average first innings winning score: 179
Average powerplay score: 49
Win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 43% / 57%
Team form PBKS vs RCB
PBKS: WLLWW
RCB: LWLLW
Recent meetings: IPL 2022 PBKS won by 54 runs and PBKS won by 5 wickets
Preview PBKS vs RCB
RCB would dearly love to be travelling to the IS Bindra Stadium with a couple more wins in the bag. If playing at home is going to be a major advantage this season, then Bangalore have failed to take that advantage, losing 2 out of their last 3 home games.
What's worse for them is that they find themselves travelling to a side that have beaten them in 5 out of the last 6 meetings with PBKS scoring 200+ runs against RCB in both matches of IPL 2022. Not exactly the kind of opposition that Bangalore's shell shocked bowlers will be looking forward to!
That being said, a few of RCB's bowlers might be happy to get away from the M Chinnaswamy stadium with it batsman friendly pitch and short boundaries. In IPL 2023, a six has been hit at the stadium in Bangalore once every 10.5 balls on average which is about twice as often as any other venue in the league including here at the IS Bindra where sixes are averaged once every 20.8 balls in the 2 matches played so far.
PBKS meanwhile continue to punch above their weight. After a couple of big defeats on the bounce and the news that Shikhar Dhawan was out of the game against LSG you did wonder whether things might go downhill very quickly for Punjab. However, Sam Curran and his side put in an excellent bowling performance to limit the Super Giants and then in Shikhar's absence a few of their batsmen stood up to get the side home.
There must still be the concern that despite a couple of really good starts with the bat early in the tournament, that PBKS have found themselves on the back foot in the powerplay in each of their last 3 matches. It goes without saying that being 50 for 3 (or worse) is not likely to win you many matches in the IPL.
| Opposition (match) | Score at fall of 2nd wicket | Score at fall of 3rd wicket | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| LSG (5) | 17 | 45 | W |
| GT (4) | 28 | 55 | L |
| SRH (3) | 10 | 22 | L |
| RR (2) | 158 | 159 | W |
| KKR (1) | 109 | 135 | W |
PBKS scores at loss of 2nd & 3rd wicket in IPL 2023
Equally, they come up against an RCB pace attack that while having taken a bit of damage later in the innings have often got their team off to a flier. In total, RCB have claimed 13 powerplay wickets in IPL 2023, comfortably more than anybody else while also having the best bowling economy while the field restrictions are in place - 6.6 an over.
RCB fans will be relieved to hear that Faf du Plessis has played down any injury concerns. The Bangalore skipper was seen receiving strapping around his abdomen during his innings against CSK and didn't seem to be pushing as hard as usual with his running between wickets. Early fears were that he may have a back injury which as anyone who has hurt that part of their body will tell you does take a while to heal. However, Faf suggested in his post-match interview that he'd landed awkwardly on his ribs while fielding and was feeling a little stiff rather than having broken a bone.
From what we've seen of the pitch at the IS Bindra so far this season, it is one where spinners and pace off the ball have been significantly harder to score off. The slow bowlers here have an economy rate of 7.1 with only the Arun Jaitely stadium in Delhi seeing a lower economy rate for spin (6.9). However, it is not a ground on which spinners have had success in taking wickets so far in IPL 2023.
| Stadium | Spin bowlers strike rate | Spin bowlers economy rate |
|---|---|---|
| IS Bindra | 26.5 | 7.1 |
| ACA Stadium | 26.0 | 8.0 |
| M Chinnaswamy | 23.9 | 9.4 |
Worst strike rates for spin bowlers by venue IPL 2023
PBKS vs RCB head to head
RCB bowling vs PBKS batting
We've touched on the fact that RCB's powerplay bowling has been high class so far this season with Mohammed Siraj leading the way and being ably supported by David Willey and/or Wayne Parnell.
Siraj powerplay bowling stats IPL 2023
Shikhar Dhawan has managed to resit those 3 bowlers during his long T20 career, recording a combined average of 40 against them and so PBKS will be very keen to get him back in the side if possible.
Another player who PBKS and IPL fans continue to wait on is Liam Livingstone. He hit 70 from 40 balls the last time these 2 sides met and in general has an excellent head to head record against the current RCB bowling attack. Sikander Raza and Matt Short have done well in recent matches but if Livingstone is fit, you'd imagine he'll get a game.
Livingstone T20 head to head vs current RCB bowling line-up
One player who has definitely stepped up in the absence of a few of the senior guys in the PBKS side, is Shahrukh Khan. His stats last year were very disappointing for a player who comes with a reputation of big hitting (ave 16, strike rate of 108) but this season his batting at the death has been more than useful.
Shahrukh Khan death overs batting stats IPL 2023
He also comes into this match with a decent record against Harshal Patel (strike rate of 171) who himself has been struggling for form and fitness this season.
PBKS bowling vs RCB batting
RCB will be even more keen to get Faf du Plessis on the field when considering his IPL record at the IS Bindra Stadium. That is also in contrast to Virat Kohli who averages just 26 here and Glenn Maxwell who averages 18 at a ground that he knows fairly well from his time playing for Punjab.
Faf du Plessis IPL batting stats at the IS Bindra Stadium
The great match-up in this game is undoubtedly Rabada going head to head with RCB's big 3 batsmen. The South African quick has a great record against Kohli (dismissed 4 times), Maxwell (dismissed 3 times) and du Plessis (dismissed twice) in T20 cricket. If he can break through that top order then we have already seen that RCB's middle to lower order lacks a bit of quality and form.
Rabada T20 head to head vs Kohli, du Plessis and Maxwell
Dinesh Karthik did at least spend a bit of time at the crease in the game against CSK. The veteran keeper and RCB's main finisher had faced just 13 balls in IPL 2023 before hitting 28 from 14 last time out. He will be hoping to get a chance at the back end of the innings in this game against Sam Curran whom he has an incredible strike rate of 246 against!
Sam Curran T20 head to head vs Dinesh Karthik
All stats used in this blog are from my own databases which are freely accessible below
IPL head to head player stats
IPL player stats by venue
IPL stadium statistics.
Images are my own with the exception of player profiles and highlights within GIFs which are not intended to infringe copyright- read full disclaimer. Background images are used under a creative commons license or otherwise royalty free.