PBKS vs RCB in IPL 2021 – Kohli targets No. 1 Spot in IPL Points Table: Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) will take on KL Rahul’s Punjab Kings in an attempt to reclaim the No 1 spot in the IPL 2021 Points table. A win will take RCB to 12 points from 7 games and will propel them to top spot over Chennai Super Kings. While RCB haven’t been at their best in the last two matches, losing one and winning the other by just 1 run against Delhi Capitals, they will start favourites on Friday.
Also Read:PBKS vs RCB head to head: KL Rahul’s Punjab Kings vs Virat Kohli’s Royal…
PBKS vs RCB in IPL 2021 – Kohli targets No. 1 Spot in IPL Points Table: Reasons why RCB can take top spot ?
Despite their inconsistency in the last two matches, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have their both departments — batting and bowling — firing apart from the rare collapse against CSK.
RCB top-order in-form: While Devdutt Padikkal and Virat Kohli did not score a lot of runs in the last match, both are in top form. Padikkal has scored a century this season while Virat Kohli has one half-century. Apart from the two, at No 3 Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell have both done well.
Maxwell-De Villiers in top form: With Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers anchoring RCB’s innings when the top-order fails, they have put up a good total, making life easier for not-so-experienced players in the lower middle order. Maxwell has so far scored 233 runs including two half-centuries in IPL 2021 while De Villiers has 204 runs from five innings.
Bowling department on top: Although RCB’s batting has been the strength, it’s their bowling department that has won them matches. With Harshal Patel leading the Purple Cap leaderboard with 17 wickets from six matches, he has scalped at least two wickets in every match. He has been well supported by Kyle Jamieson and Mohammed Siraj from the other end with their speed. While Yuzvendra Chahal hasn’t come good yet, Virat Kohli’s six bowling option has been a blessing. Kohli will once again depend a lot on the bowling performance to win the match against Punjab Kings and climb to the top spot.
Inconsistent Punjab Kings: The other factor that will go in RCB’s favour is Punjab Kings’ inconsistency. They are yet to fire as a unit with either KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal or Deepak Hooda shining in the middle. Their bowling department too hasn’t had the best of starts with experienced campaigners like Mohammed Shami too going expensive. As for the spin department, while Ravi Bishnoi has done well, he has lacked support from the other end.
PBKS vs RCB in IPL 2021 – Kohli targets No. 1 Spot in IPL Points Table:
IPL 2021 Teams Points Table
| No. | Teams | Played | Won | Lost | N/R | Points | NRR | |
| 1 | Chennai Super Kings | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | +1.475 | |
| 2 | Delhi Capitals | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 10 | +0.466 | |
| 3 | Royal Challengers Bangalore | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | +0.089 | |
| 4 | Mumbai Indians | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 | +0.071 | |
| 5 | Kolkata Knight Riders | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 4 | -0.494 | |
| 6 | Punjab Kings | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -0.608 | |
| 7 | Rajasthan Royals | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -0.690 | |
| 8 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | -0.264 |
PBKS vs RCB in IPL 2021: Kohli & Co targets No. 1 spot in points table by beating KL Rahul’ PBKS