Shikhar Dhawan, a star player for the Punjab Kings, was ruled out of their April 15 match against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) due to a shoulder injury.
On Thursday in Mohali, the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between the Punjab Kings (PBKS) and the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will have the Punjab Kings (PBKS) sweating over the injury to their captain, Shikhar Dhawan. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) will need all of their firepower against the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who are extremely difficult but unlucky.
Dhawan, 37, one of the bright points for PBKS, was ruled out against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 15 in Lucknow due to a shoulder injury, and England all-rounder Sam Curran led the side to a two-wicket victory at the Ekana Stadium.
Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh, and Tamil Nadu cricketer M Shahrukh Khan led the team to victory. Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza, 36, scored the most runs for his team with 57, while Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh, and Tamil Nadu cricketer M Shahrukh Khan guided the team to victory. However, RCB are a much greater threat on paper than LSG, and Curran knows he must contribute with the bat if his team is to defeat Faf du Plessis’s squad and gain two points at home.
Curran’s shaky batting form is cause for concern, as he scored just six runs against LSG, but his three wickets were instrumental in limiting KL Rahul’s team to 159/8.
Prabhsimran Singh, Dhawan’s opening companion, will have to play sensibly and hope his partner plays a responsible knock, which was lacking against LSG, if Dhawan’s fitness is in question.
Both Prabhsimran (4) and Atharva Taide (0) were despatched cheaply, leaving others to bolster the innings.
With Arshdeep Singh and Curran at the vanguard and South African pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada adding to their potency, PBKS’ bowling has withstood the toughest tests this season.
While PBKS, currently fifth with six points from five matches, have been performing admirably as the IPL season prepares to enter its fourth week, the only thing preventing them from reaching the top is their fragile batting, which has been frequently bolstered by Dhawan — the 99 against Sunrisers Hyderabad being an example.
In contrast, RCB have been unfortunate in their pursuit of victories. With captain du Plessis and Virat Kohli opening the innings, they have arguably the best opening combination in the competition, with the exception of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler of Rajasthan Royals.
With Glenn Maxwell at No.4 and Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik, and Suyash Prabhudessai following him, RCB has a very deep batting lineup. Unfortunately, their greatest shortcoming is the same as PBKS’s: an inconsistent top order. After Kohli (6) and Mahipal Lomror (0) were dismissed cheaply against CSK, du Plessis and Maxwell were tasked with rebuilding the innings while pursuing CSK’s mammoth 226.
In Bengaluru, they performed admirably on a superb wicket, but fell short by eight runs. The narrow defeats have relegated RCB to the bottom of the IPL standings; they are currently eighth with four points from five matches.
The team still has numerous opportunities to improve its performance and be in the hunt for the semifinals, but in a tournament as fast-paced as the IPL, things can change dramatically. RCB may not have the same bowling potency as PBKS, but their quicks — Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, and South Africa’s Wayne Parnell — are committed.
All they need are a few victories to bolster their morale and get their campaign back on track. That could very well occur on Thursday against PBKS.