Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings, two of the most improved franchises this year, will meet today at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The two franchises are at a similar point in the league, having won 4 of their 6 matches so far and sitting in 3rd and 4th positions respectively.
Not only are the teams similar in terms of points, but they had also employed a similar strategy going into the auctions. Both teams have new captains in Rajat Patidar and Shreyas Iyer, while the influx of new players has brought a new energy to the teams.
In their last match at Mullanpur, PBKS created history by defending the lowest total ever defended in an IPL match (111). Meanwhile, RCB beat Rajasthan Royals by 9 wickets in their last encounter in Jaipur.
However, RCB have a history of underperforming on their home turf, while putting up match after match on the road.
Chinnaswamy stadium pitch report:
Chinnaswamy stadium is usually expected to help the batters with its short boundaries with little help for the bowlers. Howevere, in the two games played this year, RCB batting coach Dinesh Karthik has stated that the pitch hasn’t helped the batters too much despite asking the curators for a good surface.
In the two matches played so far, the first innings total hasn’t even crossed the 170 run mark. Contrast that to the average first innings total of this surface being 178 and the highest IPL total of 287 also being scored on the same surface.
Moreover, the highest successful run chase of 213 suggests that the venue also remained good to bat in both the innings but that doesn’t seem to be true this year.
Chinnaswamy stadium stats:
In the 96 matches played at this venue so far, the team batting first has won 41 matches while the team batting second has won 51 matches with 4 matches ending without a result and one clash ending in a tie.
RCB vs PBKS: Head to head record
The two teams have face off on 12 occassions in IPL, with RCB winning 7 of this encounters while PBKS winning 5. However, all of these numbers will go for a toss as the two new look sides take up the challenge today.
RCB’s record at Chinnasamy stadium:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have played 102 matches at this venue, winning 48 out of those and losing 49 matches. 4 matches ended with no result and one ended in a tie.
RCB are among the few franchises who often have trouble winning on their home ground.
