Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the 26th game of the new Indian Premier League season
Punjab Kings take on Royal Challengers Banglore in the 26th match of the 2021 IPL.
The game is scheduled for 7.30pm IST (3pm BST) on Friday, April 30, 2021.
Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium is hosting the game.
Punjab Kings are having an IPL to forget. After winning a high-scoring opening encounter against Rajasthan Royals, KL Rahul’s side lost three matches on the spin before defeating Mumbai Indians by nine wickets. In their most recent outing, they suffered a five-wicket humbling at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders and are currently sixth in the table.
RCB, by contrast, are once again threatening that this could be their year. The only blot on their copybook to date is a 69-run defeat to Chennai Super Kings. Virat Kohli’s side have won five of their opening six matches but nearly threw away victory in their most recent outing, completing a nerve-jangling one-run win over Delhi Capitals.
Dafabet have RCB as the favourites to win, offering odds of 4/6, while Punjab are at 6/5.
However, the bookies are backing Punjab to hit the most sixes, with odds of 17/20 compared with RCB’s 13/10.
Rahul is 2/1 to be Punjab’s leading run-scorer while Virat Kohli – who only has one fifty in the tournament to date – is 23/10 to top-score for RCB.
AB de Villiers, ranked 35th on the T20 Player Index, is on fire in the middle-order for RCB. The South African has scored 204 runs at a strike rate of 174.35 in five innings in 2021, most recently scoring an unbeaten 76 off just 42 deliveries against Delhi Capitals. In a batting line-up with orange cap contender Glenn Maxwell (223 runs) and last season’s breakout star Devdutt Padikkal, there’s the potential for RCB to smash an unreachable knock if they are sent in to bat first.
For Punjab Kings, Rahul holds the key. In his side’s two victories, the India international has scored 91 and 60 not out, compared with five, 61, four and 19 in their four defeats.
Also, keep an eye on fast bowler Chris Jordan. The England star was one of only a few players to emerge from the KKR defeat with increased stock, scoring 30 off 18 deliveries with the bat and bowling with an economy of eight. Expect him to feature in the XI again.
RCB lost bowlers Adam Zampa and Kane Richardson earlier this week, with the Australian pair choosing to head home given the escalating Covid-19 situation in India. Richardson has been replaced in the squad by New Zealand bowler Scott Kuggeleijn.
Punjab Kings should have a full squad at their disposal and may be tempted to bring in Dawid Malan for Chris Gayle at the top of the order. The Universe Boss has scored 119 runs in six matches.
The two teams have played each other 26 times.
Punjab Kings wins: 14
Royal Challengers Bangalore wins: 12
Hot and dry conditions are forecast for Ahmedabad, with temperatures expected to peak in the high 30s.
No, this match will be played behind closed doors owing to the Covid-19 situation in India.
Only CSK are in better form than RCB and with AB de Villiers in solid form, Kohli’s side should be too much for Punjab Kings to handle.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Yuzvendra Chahal, Devdutt Padikkal, Harshal Patel, Daniel Sams, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Adam Zampa (left IPL for personal reasons on April 26), Shahbaz Ahmed, Kane Richardson (left IPL for personal reasons on April 26), Pavan Deshpande, Glenn Maxwell, Sachin Baby, Rajat Patidar, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Kyle Jamieson, Dan Christian, Suyesh Prabhudessai, KS Bharat, Finn Allen, Scott Kuggeleijn (joined April 28 to replace Kane Richardson)
PK: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Moises Henriques, Shahrukh Khan, Chris Jordan, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammad Shami, Arshdeep Singh
RCB: Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli (c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, AB de Villiers (wk), Washington Sundar, Daniel Sams, Kyle Jamieson, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal
Our coverage of the IPL is brought to you in association with Dafabet India. For more on Dafabet and to place a bet, click here
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