Ahead of the start of the much-awaited season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) batter Virat Kohli is all excited for the cash-rich league to commence this weekend. IPL 2022 began with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium on Saturday.


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And RCB will lock horns with Punjab Kings in their first match of the tournament on Sunday (March 27). Kohli cannot wait to set the ball rolling as he gears up for the match with ‘buzz and excitement’.


“Heading into matchday weekend. All the buzz and excitement of IPL (are) in the air. Love this anticipation and butterflies in the stomach before the tournament starts,” Kohli shared pictures from his training session on the KOO app.


Kohli, free from the responsibilities as the captain, is focused on helping RCB lift the IPL trophy this season. Asked if relinquishing captaincy duties has given him refreshed energy, Kohli in an interview on the RCB website said, “(I have) renewed energy because I’m off a lot of responsibilities and duties. And life is in a very good place. We have a child now, we have a family. For me, it`s all about going on with life with a lot of joy and happiness and just watching our child grow and then just doing what I love, which is playing cricket.


“So, my focus is so clear now, it’s so precise what I want to do. I want to just have a lot of fun and enjoy myself on the field and give myself fully to this team, to this franchise like I have for so many years, without any load. So, I’m absolutely ready,” he added.


Match Details


Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Match No. 3


Venue: DY Patil Stadium, Mumbai


Date & Time: March 27th at 7:30 PM IST


Live Streaming: Star Sports Network, Star Gold and Disney+Hotstar


PBKS vs RCB Dream 11 Prediction


Wicketkeeper: Dinesh Karthik


Batters: Shikhar Dhawan, Faf du Plessis, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan


All-rounders: Liam Livingstone, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shahbaz Ahmed


Bowlers: Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh


Captain: Faf du Plessis


Vice-Captain: Mayank Agarwal


PBKS vs RCB Probable Playing XI


Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Odean Smith, Rishi Dhawan / Benny Howell, Harpreet Brar, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar, Sandeep Sharma


Royal Challengers Bangalore: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Mahipol Lomror, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Shahbaz Ahmed, Wanindu Hasaranga, David Willey / Finn Allen, Harshal Patel, Karn Sharma / Siddarth Kaul, Mohammad Siraj