RCB vs PBKS, IPL 2022 prediction today: Who will win Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Punjab Kings match?

The cricketing action will continue on IPL 2022's second day itself. On Sunday (March 27), the 15th season will see its first doubleheader as Mumbai Indians (MI) face Delhi Capitals in the afternoon game whereas two new-look teams in the form of Faf du Plessis-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mayank Agarwal's Punjab Kings (PBKS) will lock horns with each other in the evening encounter.

Talking about the second game of the doubleheader, it will be an exciting contest between two teams who have changed a whole lot since the last season. For Punjab, they will have a new captain once again after KL Rahul left the franchise to join the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). Mayank will step into his shoes and has a power-packed squad, comprising the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Liam Livingstone, Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Rahul Chahar, etc. Jonny Bairstow is currently involved in England's third and final Test versus West Indies in the Caribbean island and, hence, his absence will be felt. Nonetheless, PBKS have most of their players which should keep them in good stead.

On the other hand, the perennial underachievers RCB will be led by Faf du Plessis. He steps into the big shoes of Virat Kohli, who resigned from the top post after IPL 2021. Faf will have Kohli, Glenn Maxwell and Dinesh Karthik's experience along with him but the Aussie all-rounder will miss the opening few games due to his marriage. Bengaluru still have enough firepower to rely upon and will give a tough competition to the Punjab line-up.

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It will be interesting to see how the bowlers from both sides utilise the DY Patil Stadium's surface, which has been used as a football ground of late. The captains will also be put to test to rotate their bowlers and set a template for their batters on a pitch which can have anything on offer.

Match prediction for RCB vs PBKS: The surface at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai continues to be the biggest talking point ahead of the season. Being in the early days of IPL 2022, not much can be predicted on how it will come into play. If one analyses the two teams on paper, Punjab pack a solid punch, however, it remains to be seen how well they gel and show up on the field versus the three-time runners-up.

In head-to-head, Punjab lead RCB 15-13.