The last five battles of the PBKS vs RCB clash too have been quite close, as the Punjab Kings (PBKS) have found themselves ahead with a 3-2 margin over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). None of these two teams, both with four wins in 11 games, can’t afford a single defeat from this point.
Middle overs in any T20 is such a vital phase of the game. If a team can keep the opposition calm in this period, they will find themselves a little ahead going into the death overs. Bengaluru have the highest economy of 9.85 between the seventh to the 15th over period.
Punjab, going into the PBKS vs RCB clash, have been decent with an economy of 8.20 in the middle overs, and the credit should go to their spin duo of Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar. They have the fourth most wickets in this period with 28 scalps in 11 innings, while the Bengaluru side have collected 25 wickets in this duration.
Because they haven’t picked up many wickets and their economy too is on the higher side, it’s quite natural that they conceded 58 sixes in this period, the most among all the teams. It’s also bizarre that their conceding 975 runs in the middle overs is the second most in this duration.
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Going into the PBKS vs RCB encounter, Punjab have the eighth-best strike rate of 133.67 among the ten teams in the middle overs of the IPL 2024, while Bengaluru’s 141.81 strike rate sits in sixth place. The 2016-runners up have smashed 46 sixes, the joint second-most in this period, while Punjab have 43 in this period, but they have lost the most wickets (33) in the nine-over duration.
With Dharamsala, the pacers could come into the scene more in the middle overs with their back-of-the-length balls.
PBKS vs RCB Head-to-Head Records in IPL
| PBKS | Info | RCB |
| 32 | Matches Played | 32 |
| 17 | Won | 15 |
| 15 | Lost | 17 |
| 00 | No Result | 00 |
| 232 | Highest Score | 226 |
| 88 | Lowest Score | 84 |
PBKS vs RCB Head-to-Head Records in IPL in Dharamsala
In the only PBKS vs RCB affair at this ground, Punjab had a cakewalk of 111-run victory over the Bengaluru side. Way back in 2011, Punjab put on 232/2 in their 20 overs, with Adam Gilchrist celebrating a 106-run knock. In reply, RCB couldn’t do much in the chase, getting bundled out for 121 in 17 overs, as Piyush Chawla ended with 4/17 in four overs.
| Matches Played | PBKS Won | RCB Won | No Result | Previous Meeting in Dharamsala |
| 01 | 01 | 00 | 00 | PBKS won by 111-runs. |
PBKS vs RCB Last 5 Encounters
In the five encounters of the PBKS vs RCB affair, the Punjab Kings have a 3-2 winning margin over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
PBKS vs RCB: Standout Performers:
Most runs for PBKS: Shaun Marsh (266 runs)
Most runs for RCB: Virat Kohli (938 runs)
Most wickets for PBKS: Sandeep Sharma (16 wickets)
Most wickets for RCB: Yuzvendra Chahal (25 wickets)
Key Match-ups between PBKS and RCB Players:
- Harpreet Brar has kept Kohli calm, conceding 62 T20 runs in 55 balls, besides dismissing him twice.
- Kagiso Rabada has got the better of Faf du Plessis for five times in T20s.
- Jonny Bairstow, even after one dismissal, has smocked Mohammad Siraj over 54 T20 runs in 25 balls.
