Preview PBKS vs RCB IPL 2021, Match 26, April 30th, Narendra Modi Stadium. PBKS vs RCB head to head player stats and records. Team news and match predictions for PBKS vs RCB.
Key match stats PBKS vs RCB
Venue Stats – Narendra Modi Stadium
- Average first innings: 161
- Average first innings winning score: 171
- Average powerplay score: 46
- All-time win % batting 1st vs batting 2nd: 50% / 43%
Find full venue stats and records here
Team form PBKS vs RCB preview
- PBKS – LWLLL
- RCB – WLWWW
- Recent meetings: IPL 2020, PBKS won by 97 runs, PBKS won by 8 wickets
PBKS vs RCB preview
This fixture sees 2 sides who spent heavily in the auction in order to try and secure a maiden IPL title but who to date have experienced different fortunes since their respective rebuilds.
For PBKS, nothing much seems to have changed despite the large amount of money they spent at the start of the year. They are still inconsistent, they lack penetration in the powerplay and they are over reliant on their top order to score the runs for them. Their season to date has seen them smash 226 runs in the opening game against the Royals as well as steamrolling defending champions Mumbai Indians by 9 wickets while on the other hand they’ve been soundly beaten themselves by the likes of KKR and SRH both of whom have struggled in 2021. It was a similar story of Jekyll and Hyde like performances from the Kings last season with RCB unfortunate to come up against them on 2 of their better days. Whether those results 6 months ago will count for anything in this match remains to be seen.
By contrast, RCB’s close of season signings have all made a contribution of some kind but it is the trio of Glenn Maxwell, Kyle Jamieson and Harshal Patel that have really shone for the Challengers this year and their inclusion in the side also seems to be helping to get the best out of players like AB de Villiers and Mohammed Siraj. A massive fillet for RCB will be that they managed to close out another tight win over a likely playoff rival in their last match in Delhi Capitals having edged past Mumbai Indians in their opening game. For a side with a famously empty trophy cabinet those psychological wins may prove priceless come the final reckoning.
PBKS vs RCB head to head stats
PBKS bowling vs RCB batting
We wrote a detailed assessment of Virat Kohli’s decision to move to open the batting before the start of the season and it’d be fair to say that it hasn’t quite happened for the RCB and India captain yet in IPL 2021. Those who have watched Kohli over the last 18 months know that by his very high standards he’s not been in the best of form. So far, that dip has carried on into the IPL but with a player of the class of Kohli you know a big score will never be too far around the corner! Here he faces a bowler in Mohammed Shami who has an excellent head to head against him
Of course it’s Moises Henriques as opposed to Mohammed Shami that PBKS have used as an opening bowler for the last couple of games and while he has been successful in that role you’d have to say that it was as much a result of some very sleepy batting from both Mumbai Indians and KKR as opposed to brilliant bowling and you fancy that Kohli and Paddikal won’t be as forgiving as those that have come before!
Indeed, RCB have one of the best run rates in the powerplay of IPL 2021 (it was the best until DC took apart KKR in their last match) and with a strong middle order to come, you feel that PBKS will need to be at their best with the ball if they are to limit RCB today.
Speaking of that middle order, AB de Villiers has been arguably the best batsman of IPL 2021 to date. While focus will often go on the guys playing in the top 3 because they are most likely to hit the big scores, AB has shown both skill and versatility to score important runs in various match situations and pitch conditions. To sum things up quite simply, de Villiers never misses an opportunity to score. Not only does he have the highest strike rate in the death overs (2nd highest overall) but he also has one of the lowest dot ball percentages not just of IPL 2021 but of all time! Whether the situation requires AB to smash it into the stands or manipulate the strike he is able to deliver, making him a true great of the T20 era and a player that PBKS will need to see the back of early in this match if they are stand any chance.
RCB bowling vs PBKS batting
As noted above, RCB’s bowlers were given some rough treatment by the Kings’ batsmen in last season’s IPL. Of course, the RCB attack in general is looking significantly better than perhaps it has ever been in an IPL season so there is no reason to expect that we’ll see a similar result today but it has left some of the head to head stats for players like Mohammed Siraj looking a little worse for wear. Below is Siraj’s stats vs the PBKS top 3.
Last season, PBKS scored more runs than anyone in the IPL with the exception of eventual champions Mumbai Indians. This year they have accumulated the fewest runs out of all 8 franchises and unfortunately as discussed above they don’t have the defensive game to win many low scoring matches.
Despite the strength of their top order, PBKS have struggled to make fast starts during IPL 2021 as evidenced by the graph below that shows they have the lowest run-rate in the powerplay of all the teams. The poor starts are probably a combination of the conditions they’ve played in, the players in that top 3 and a general concern that if they lose early wickets they don’t have the depth and ability in their batting to recover.
In general, PBKS have made the fatal mistake that so many teams in so many sports often do which is that in looking to overcome their greatest weaknesses (defensive bowling/wicket taking) they have impacted the effectiveness of their traditional strength (attacking run scoring). We’ll see if they come out with a different plan of attack for this game but I fear that if they don’t perform to their peak then this could be another defeat on the way to another unsuccessful season.
All IPL player head to head records can be found here
