Indian Premier League 2024

'Boost ho gya ye to punjab k liye' - Fans react to reports of Liam Livingstone being fit to play for PBKS vs RCB clash

Power hitter Liam Livingstone is expected to play in the Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore match on Thursday at Mohali.

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Akshay
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Liam Livingstone

Liam Livingstone (Image credit: Twitter)

Liam Livingstone Liam Livingstone (Image credit: Twitter)

Punjab Kings (PBKS) are set to lock horns against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in Match No. 27 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Thursday (April 20) at the Punjab Cricket Association's IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. PBKS, who are fifth in the points table, come into this fixture after defeating Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 2 wickets, while eight-ranked RCB lost their last match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by eight runs.

Ahead of the high-voltage clash, reports from the PBKS camp suggest that big hitter Liam Livingstone is likely to play against RCB. The English cricketer arrived in India but did not play a single match this season. However, he appeared in a full-fledged practice session ahead of their home game, hinting that he could feature in today's match.

In a video shared by the Mohali-based franchise, Livingstone was seen sweating hard in the nets. The star all-rounder was spotted hitting the ball over the rope and bowling some spin to his teammates.

Watch the video below:Β 

Skipper Dhawan to return, RCB could go unchanged

Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the previous game against LSG owing to a niggle, is also expected to play tonight. In his absence, Sam Curran led the side against KL Rahul and Co and won a thriller by two wickets. However, the PBKS skipper has also started training and is likely to be fit for the crucial encounter against RCB.

Meanwhile, RCB are unlikely to make any changes to their playing XI from the last game. Josh Hazelwood joined the camp last week, but the Aussie pacer hasn't been seen bowling in the nets, and his availability for this away fixture remains a doubtful.

PBKS probable XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Matthew Short / Liam Livingstone, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh

RCB probable XI: Faf du Plessis (c), Virat Kohli, Mahipal Lomror, Glenn Maxwell, Shahbaz Ahmed, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Wanindu Hasaranga, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Wayne Parnell, Vijaykumar Vyshak

Here's how fans reacted to reports of Livingstone being available for today's match:

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