Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to field first at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Despite losing to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 opener, Du Plessis did not make any changes to the team combination.
“We are going to have a bowl. It looks a pretty good wicket but also because of the way our team is set up. The boys are excited for the season. In any game of cricket you can't have clusters of wickets and we have to improve on that. Same team and one or two options on changing the substitutions,” the former South African captain said after winning the toss.
Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shikhar Dhawan did not tinker with the winning combination in their first away game.
“We would have bowled first. But looking forward to batting first now. We did a lot of right things in the first game and that's why we ended up on the winning side. We have to keep improving each game. Same team,” Dhawan said at the coin toss.
RCB Playing XI: Faf du Plessis(c), Virat Kohli, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik, Anuj Rawat(w), Alzarri Joseph, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal
PBKS Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma(w), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar
Head-to-head
RCB and PBKS have locked horns in 31 IPL games. PBKS have had the upper hand with 17 wins.
Green looking to make an impact in home game
After an underwhelming debut for RCB, Australian all-rounder Cameron Green is happy to be batting at any position.
“Anywhere I can fit into the team basically. I am still pretty fresh at T20 cricket, so I am still trying to work it out myself, just happy to play wherever,” he said.
He also weighed in on the two-bouncers rule and backed Alzarri Jospeh to do well.
“Chops and changes each game, we had a pretty good match-up to Dube last game, unfortunately we didn't get him out doing it. It obviously helps my style, I find that as one of my better balls. And few of the other guys in our time feel the same, Alzarri with the two bouncer rule - helps him as well, it's exciting. It brings a new dimension to the game, the batters aren't too happy about it but the bowlers are. Helps the bowlers, especially in some of these grounds, I like it,” added.
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