Fantasy Preview: Back the all-rounders to perform

Two teams without momentum face each other in the noon match on Thursday. Punjab Kings started well with two wins in the first two matches but faltered in the next two. However, they won against a formidable Lucknow Super Giants in their previous game.

On the other hand, Royal Challengers Bangalore made a solid start to their campaign with a comprehensive win against Mumbai Indians. They could not maintain the momentum in their next two matches. Against Delhi Capitals, they managed to achieve another flawless victory. Once again, they stumbled against Chennai Super Kings.

The two teams have met each other 30 times, and Punjab has the upper hand with 17 wins. However, while playing in Mohali, the Bangalore franchise have the edge over the home team. In seven matches, Bangalore has four wins.

Ground details

So far this season, the Punjab Cricket Association, Mohali, has witnessed two matches. In the first encounter, Punjab batting first posted 191, but in the second game, they could score only 153.

In these two matches, the pacers picked up 72.7% of the wickets compared to 27.3% by spinners. The percentage of wickets bagged by pacers is the most for a venue this season and, proportionately, the lowest for spinners. In terms of economy, the spinners (7.2) have been much better than the pacers (8.9).

The boundary dimension in Mohali is one of the biggest, which is why; sixes at this venue are hard to come by. Only 22 sixes are witnessed in two matches, and a six has been hit every 20.8 balls, the worst ratio among all venues.

Suggested team

While you could go for the above team, you can choose your team from Cricket.com's Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.

Suggested captains

For small league: Faf du Plessis (capt), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-capt)

For grand league: Kagiso Rabada (capt), Sam Curran (vice-capt)

Stats that matter

-In this IPL, Bangalore bowlers have an economy of 6.6 in the powerplay, the best among all. Their bowlers have picked up 13 wickets, which is also the most.

-In this IPL, Punjab batters have scored at a run rate of 7.6 during the nine overs phase (7-15), the joint-slowest.

-In this IPL, Shikhar Dhawan has scored 233 runs at an average of 116.5 and a strike rate of 146.5. In his four innings, only once has he scored below 40.

-In this IPL, Mohammed Siraj has bagged four wickets in the powerplay at an economy of 4.4. Only David Willey has a better economy in this phase (4.2) than Siraj among bowlers with five-plus overs.

Grand league punts

-In the IPL, Kagiso Rabada has a good record against Bangalore’s big three. Faf du Plessis (8), Virat Kohli (9.3), and Glenn Maxwell (12) average below 15 against the bowler and have dismissed all three batters multiple times.

-The costliest player in IPL, Sam Curran, did not have the start he wanted. In his first three matches, he picked up just one wicket while conceding 9.6 runs per over. However, in the last two games, he has snaffled four wickets at an economy of 7.1.

Top Criclytics projection

Probable XI

Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabsimran Singh/Atharva Taide, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh

Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Wayne Parnell/David Willey, Harshal Patel, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Mohammed Siraj