May 13: Royal Challengers Bangalore v Pubjab Kings, 60th Match, Brabourne Stadium
Safe XI: Jonny Bairstow, Faf du Plessis (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rajat Patidar, Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kagiso Rabada, Josh Hazlewood (vice-capt), Rahul Chahar
Captain: Faf du Plessis
Any safe fantasy team for this fixture should have du Plessis as captain considering his domination of Punjab Kings. In his last ten outings against them, he has scored 621 runs at an average of 77.63 and a strike rate of 143.09 with nine 30+ scores. He is also the fourth-leading run-scorer this season with a tally of 389 in 12 games.
Vice-captain: Josh Hazlewood
The Australian pacer has been in fine form in this season taking 13 wickets in eight games at an economy of 6.81. He has been mighty impressive in the powerplay where he has taken four wickets at an economy of 5.58 as well as in middle overs (7-16) where he has taken five wickets at an economy of 4.75.
Hot Picks
Liam Livingstone: This hard-hitting batter has been doing the role of finisher in recent games after coming in at No. 4 previously. He is the second-leading run-scorer for Kings this season with a tally of 315 in 11 games at a strike rate of 184.21. He has recorded a couple of 50+ scores at Brabourne stadium already this season.
Kagiso Rabada: One of the most experienced overseas pacers in IPL, Rabada is the joint-third leading wicket-taker this season with 18 strikes in 10 games. Wickets in the powerplay was the only concern for Rabada in previous seasons - he had taken only nine in 43 games over the last three seasons combined. However, he has overcome that in 2022 picking up eight wickets in 10 games in the first six overs.
Differential Picks
Rajat Patidar: A highly-rated domestic talent from Madhya Pradesh, Patidar had an indifferent debut season in IPL 2021. However, RCB stuck with him and are now reaping the rewards. He has recorded five 20+ scores in his last six game including 52 (32) and 48 (38).
Jonny Bairstow: The England wicketkeeper has been largely quiet this year but he got going in the last game after being reinstated at the top of the order. In three games against RCB, he has scored 187 runs at a strike rate of 166.96.
High Risk XI: Dinesh Karthik, Jonny Bairstow (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Josh Hazlewood, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada (capt), Wanindu Hasaranga, Arshdeep Singh