PBKS vs RCB Highlights, IPL 2023: Siraj grabs 4 after Kohli-Faf show as Royal Challengers Bangalore beat Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings have won the toss and opted to bowl vs RCB.

RCB have been erratic this season, and have only won twice in five games. In eight spot in the table, they will look to get their campaign back on track.

1. PBKS (209/9) beat RCB (155/9) by 54 runs - May 13, 2022

2. PBKS (208/5) beat RCB (205/2) by 5 wickets - Mar 27, 2022

3. RCB (164/7) beat PBKS (158/6) by 8 runs - Oct 3, 2021

4. PBKS (179/5) beat RCB (145/8) by 34 runs - Apr 30, 2021

5. PBKS (177/2) beat RCB (171/6) by 8 wickets - Oct 15, 2020

PBKS will be relying a lot on Arshdeep, who has bagged eight wickets in IPL 2023. Curran, the most expensive player in IPL history, will also be under ths spotlight for PBKS.

LSG's Wood is in pole position in the Purple Cap race with 11 wickets in four matches, and is followed by RR's Chahal (11 wickets in six fixtures). GT's Rashid is in third position with 11 wickets in five outings, followed by teammate Shami (10 in five games). CSK's Deshpande is in fifth position with 10 wickets in five games.

Du Plessis is in pole position in the Orange Cap race with 259 runs in five matches, followed by RR's Buttler (244 runs in six games). KKR's Iyer is third with 234 runs in five fixtures, followed by PBKS captain Dhawan in fourth with 233 in four fixtures. DC captain Warner (228 runs in five fixtures) and GT's Gill (228 runs in five matches) are tied in fifth position.

Aussie all-rounder Maxwell is only five runs away from reaching 2500 IPL runs. This season, Maxwell has registered 176 runs in five matches, at an average of 44.00 and 197.75 strike rate.

In Mohali, the average first innings total in IPL matches since 2018 has been 175, but the average winning first innings score is 186.

PBKS has won their first home match, defending 191 vs KKR via DLS method. Then, they lost to GT in their second match. Also the weather is expected to be warm with a slight chance of rain.

RCB have been good in terms of fielding this season, and have been the safest catching side, dropping only two out of 28 catching opportunities.

Rabada has been stunning vs RCB. He has taken the wicket of both Kohli and Karthik four times in T20 cricket. Meanwhile, he has dismissed both Du Plessis and Maxwell three times each.

PBKS are currently fifth in the standings with six points from five games, packed with three wins and two defeats. Meanwhile, RCB are eighth with four points from five games, including two wins and three defeats.

PBKS captain Dhawan missed the last game and fans will be hoping for him to feature today. Meanwhile, Livingstone has not played a single game yet this season.

On the other hand, RCB's Hazlewood is on the sidelines due to an Achilles tendinitis injury.

Ahead of the PBKS vs RCB match, Maxwell said, "Now, you get an extra batter. You get a team six down and the game is still not over. We see a lot of teams chasing because they have the extra leeway, that extra batter."

"It certainly makes it harder as a bowling group. It doesn’t matter how many extra bowlers you throw in", he further added.

Dhawan is nearing a huge milestone! The PBKS skipper is only 23 runs away from reaching 6500 IPL runs.

Both sides have faced each other 30 times in IPL history with PBKS leading 17-13 vs RCB in head-to-head.

PBKS: Atharva Taide, Shikhar Dhawan(c), Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Prabhsimran Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohit Rathee, Rishi Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Gurnoor Brar, Baltej Singh, Liam Livingstone, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh

RCB: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik(w), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Wayne Parnell, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Mohammed Siraj, Suyash Prabhudessai, David Willey, Akash Deep, Karn Sharma, Anuj Rawat, Manoj Bhandage, Michael Bracewell, Finn Allen, Siddarth Kaul, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Himanshu Sharma, Sonu Yadav

Hello and good morning everyone! Welcome to our live coverage of today's first IPL 2023 match as PBKS take on RCB in Mohali. Stay tuned folks, for an exciting cricket match!