Bangalore went down to the Punjab Kings (PBKS) despite posting 205 on the board. RCB skipper Faf du Plessis played a brilliant knock of 88 in 57 balls while Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik chipped in with impressive performances as well. However, their bowlers failed to defend the target as Punjab’s batters pulled off a great win. Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep and Wanindu Hasaranga all proved expensive, which hurt RCB’s cause.
Despite the loss, one should not expect too many changes in the RCB playing XI. The batters proved their worth in the first game while the bowlers are quality cricketers, who will be expected to make a strong comeback.
RCB Predicted XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey, Harshal Patel, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj
In contrast to RCB, KKR got their IPL 2022 campaign off to a winning start against defending champions, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Umesh Yadav set up the win with two big wickets at the top while the spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy and Sunil Narine again stifled the opposition.
With the bat, Ajinkya Rahane played a fine knock of 44, which will give him a lot of confidence heading into the tournament. Venkatesh Iyer, Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana all looked good during their stay out in the middle.
KKR Predicted XI: Venkatesh Iyer, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nitish Rana, Sam Billings, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Sheldon Jackson (wk), Umesh Yadav, Shivam Mavi, Varun Chakaravarthy
Top fantasy picks for RCB vs KKR clash: Faf du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik, Wanindu Hasaranga, Ajinkya Rahane, Sunil Narine, Umesh Yadav
--Renin Wilben Albert