PBKS vs RCB Highlights, IPL 2022: Rajapaksa, Smith star as Punjab crush Bangalore by 5 wickets

Sandeep Sharma to Faf du Plessis, On a length, shaping in from around off. du Plessis keeps it out on the off side.

Sandeep Sharma to Faf du Plessis, Sharma starts off with a fullish ball, around off and there is some inward movement on offer for him. Faf du Plessis stays in his crease and blocks it out.

We are all set for play! The umpires make their way out to the middle as the Punjab team is seen in a huddle. Faf du Plessis and Anuj Rawat are the openers for Bangalore tonight and they take guard. Sandeep Sharma has the new ball in hand and he will be looking for some swing early on. Let's go...

We are minutes away from the start of this match but in the first match of Super Sunday, Delhi have managed to notch up a victory out of nowhere against Mumbai. It required a special batting effort from Axar Patel and Lalit Yadav to guide Delhi to a win in their opening fixture.

Bangalore (Playing XI) - Faf du Plessis (C), Anuj Rawat, Dinesh Karthik (WK), Sherfane Rutherford, Virat Kohli, David Willey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.

Punjab (Playing XI) - Mayank Agarwal (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (WK), Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Sandeep Sharma, Rahul Chahar.

TOSS - Up goes the coin and it lands in the favour of Punjab. They will BOWL first!

... MATCH DAY ...

The Indian T20 League is up and running and the third match of the season sees Punjab take on Bangalore. Both the teams have new leaders for the new season. Virat Kohli announced last year that he will step down as the Bangalore skipper so it will be Faf du Plessis leading the side while Punjab will rely on prolific opener Mayank Agarwal to lead them.

‘Ee sala cup namde’ which means, this time the cup is ours. For yet another season, Bangalore fans will chant wholeheartedly, with a promise that the franchise will live up to the expectations, this time with a new leader at the helm. In the previous edition, they made it to the Eliminator but were knocked out by Kolkata. So they will hope to make the next big step this season and go a couple of steps further.

Punjab on the other hand have shuffled things around with changes right on the top. A new season with a new skipper and they look balanced on the paper. They have the likes of Liam Livingstone and Odean Smith in the middle with Kagiso Rabada leading the bowling troops. Rabada though will miss the opening fixture. Which new captain will lead his troops to the safer shores first? We will find out soon. Toss and teams coming up shortly.