Stat-blast: Key numbers ahead of PBKS vs RCB

The Royal Challengers Bangalore will be squaring off against the Punjab Kings in what is going to be the latest and one of the most exciting instalments of the prolonged rivalry. RCB have now secured two wins from their first five games and will be hoping to cross the line this time as they fell short of a win by a meagre eight runs against the Chennai Super Kings.

With Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli being in form and the possible inclusion of Josh Hazlewood in the XI, it will be interesting to see how things shape up for RCB. As the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium gears up for the opening fixture of a double-header on a Thursday, here are a few numbers that you must know ahead of the mega clash between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Punjab Kings.

Head-to-head:

Matches played: 30

RCB – 13

PBKS - 17

Highest scorers for PBKS vs RCB:

Virat Kohli leads the run-scoring charts against the Punjab Kings for RCB with 802 runs from 29 matches at an average of 30.84 and a strike rate of 127.91.

The Universe Boss Chris Gayle, who was one of the first inductees into the RCB Hall of Fame, also notched up 797 runs against the Punjab Kings at a staggering strike rate of 174.78.

Another RCB Hall of Famer, AB de Villiers also scored 736 runs from 23 innings against the Punjab Kings with 7 half-centuries to his name.

Bowlers who turned the game on its head:

Harshal Patel is one of the leading wicket-takers for RCB against PBKS with 11 wickets, including his best performance of 4/34

Knocks that hogged the limelight:

Chris Gayle fired 117 from just 57 balls against Punjab on 6th May 2015, smashing at a strike rate of 205.26. The Universe Boss had another century against them in 2011 where he smashed 107 from just 49 balls.

Virat Kohli also has a century against Punjab as he scored 113 from 50 balls in 2016. 

Spells that would go down in history: 

Sreenath Aravind claimed figures of 4/14 against the then-known Kings XI Punjab back in 2011.

On the exact same day 4 years later, Mitchell Starc bagged figures of 4/15 at an economy rate of 3.75 against Punjab.