RCB vs PBKS IPL 2024 Match Preview: Overcoming familiar flaws tops agenda for Royal Challengers against Punjab Kings

IPL 2024 Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Punjab Kings including Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan

New season, same old story. It has taken just one game to expose the familiar problems that have plagued Royal Challengers Bengaluru season after season. The Men in Red have entered the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 without plugging the biggest hole that has crippled their countless campaigns.

Check Live Updates- RCB vs PBKS Live Score, IPL 2024: Royal Challengers Bengaluru set to take on Punjab Kings

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) didn't even use the fifth gear to chase down a challenging 174-runtarget with eight balls and six wickets to spare. To back up the kind of brittle bowling attack they have, RCB need to score 220+every time they bat first and be ready to amass even bigger scores while chasing. Even that might suffice in every game.

But RCB will have to make do with what they have against Punjab Kings at home in Match 6 of IPL 2024 today, Monday. Hours after the colourful dust settles following the celebrations of Holi - the festival of different colours, the rivalry of the Men in Red will be reignited in Bengaluru. Known as the graveyard for bowlers, M Chinnaswamy Stadium presents another challenge to the Challengers' bowling attack against a buoyant Punjab Kings.

Game awareness key for RCB bowlers

Most bowling attacks would have fancied their chances of defending a174-run target on a slow and sluggish Chepauk pitch. But RCB pacers used just a one-dimensional strategy to bowl short-pitched balls, a ploy that made CSK's job a lot easier than expected.

The unfancied spin trio of Mayank Dagar, Karn Sharma and Glenn Maxwell lacked cutting-edge ability to take advantage of the Chepauk pitch.

Alzarri Joseph might make way for one of the three overseas pacers - Reece Topley, Tom Curran and Lockie Ferguson. No home comfort is expected for the RCB bowlers on a ground where the 200 mark has been breached for a record 27 times. RCB will be looking for an inspired show with the bat from skipper Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green. Each one of them is worthy of directing the match towards their team with the might of their willow.

After dispatching a much-fancied Delhi Capitals in Mohali, Punjab will aim for another clinical display against a vulnerable RCB side. RCB's top-order collapse against CSK would have given PBKS bowlers a fair idea of exposing the flaws in Bengaluru's batting. Punjab themselves were rescued by their middle-order as Englishmen Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran saved their blushes following early wickets in the run-chase.

Arshdeep Singh can follow how Mustafizur Rahman had exposed the RCB batting with his off-cutters. The Bengaluru-based franchise's NRR would have taken a massive hit if not for the middle-order heroics of Anuj Rawat and Dinesh Karthik. Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Faf du Plessis (captain), Glenn Maxwell, Virat Kohli,Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik, Suyash Prabhudessai, WillJacks, Mahipal Lomror, Karn Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Mayank Dagar,Vijaykumar Vyshak, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Reece Topley, HimanshuSharma, Rajan Kumar, Cameron Green, Alzarri Joseph, Yash Dayal, TomCurran, Lockie Ferguson, Swapnil Singh, Saurav Chauhan.

PunjabKings: Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh,Jitesh Sharma, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, AtharvaTaide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Sam Curran, Kagiso Rabada,Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa,Shivam Singh, Harshal Patel, Chris Woakes, Ashutosh Sharma,Vishwanath Pratap Singh, Shashank Singh, Tanay Thyagarajann, PrinceChoudhary, Rilee Rossouw.

Match starts at 7.30 PM IST.