Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore Betting Tips: Perennial Underperformers Hope for Change in Fortunes Under New Leadership

March 27, 2022
Zohaib Ahmed

IPL 2022
Match 2
Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai

Punjab Kings Punjab Kings
00 Day
00 Hr
00 Min
00 Sec
Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore

Two teams that have a combined total of zero IPL wins clash in this fixture that is set to be played at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, Mumbai on March 27 (Sunday). The match is to begin at 7:30pm IST.

Teams Status

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings will look very different to those who saw them last year. Former captain KL Rahul is gone and the leadership role has been passed on to Mayank Agarwal.

The new skipper will partner Shikhar Dhawan – formerly of Delhi Capitals – in a completely revamped top order.

The Kings will be without their South African speedster Kagiso Rabada who is currently performing his international duties. Jonny Bairstow is also going to miss this game, which means Agarwal and Co will be relying on Liam Livingstone to provide foreign firepower.

Royal Challengers Bangalore

Like Punjab Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore will also be under new captaincy. After former skipper Virat Kohli relinquished leadership role at all levels, RCB drafted South African veteran Faf du Plessis, who was a champion last year with Chennai Super Kings.

Another major difference this year will be the unavailability of AB de Villiers, who was a part of their roster last year but has since retired.

Josh Hazlewood is with the Australia squad in Pakistan so he won’t be available for this fixture. Also unavailable will be his compatriot Glenn Maxwell.

What Do the Sportsbooks Say?

Brand Punjab Kings Royal Challengers Bangalore
PariMatch 2.02 1.77
PariPesa 2.038 1.852
Sportsbet.io 2.04 1.79
100% bonus up to ₹8,000
Bet Now

RCB may have lost De Villiers but gained his countryman Du Plessis. Furthermore, general consensus is that Kohli without the burden of captaincy could have a monster IPL. Perhaps, this is why RCB are the favourites in this fixture. Parimatch has RCB priced at 1.77 and Punjab at 2.02. Paripesa has RCB available for 1.852 and Punjab for 2.038. The best odds on Punjab at 2.04 are provided by Sportsbet, which has RCB priced at 1.79.


Tipster’s Angle

Tip: Virat Kohli to score more than 27.5 runs @ 1.87

Kohli couldn’t lead RCB to an IPL title but he still got the monkey off his back by deciding to not deal with monkeys at all. Under pressure for years, Kohli gave up the captaincy after last year’s IPL and did the same at international level. His form for India has yet to see any massive results due to decreased responsibility but we’re positive that his IPL career would get a boost. The odds for this play have been sourced from Parimatch.

Tip: Liam Livingstone to score more than 21.5 runs @ 1.87

Punjab Kings spent a fortune on Liam Livingstone in the IPL mega auction, and they did so for a reason. The Englishman is one of the cleanest hitters in T20 format and can bowl a bit as well. While he has been recruited for his firepower, he is expected to be used fairly early at number four or five, which means he’d plenty of opportunities to free up his arms. In the tournament opener, with his side missing several regulars, we think he’d hit the ground running. The odds for this play have been sourced from Parimatch.

Conclusion

These two teams have faced each other 28 times, with Punjab edging it 15-13. It’s actually surprising that RCB have a losing record against a side that itself has a poor record and has not made the playoffs in ages. We think a bit of course correction is in order here. RCB should win this.

Comments 0 Comments

Anonymous