Former England skipper Michael Vaughan feels Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) are favourites under the captaincy of Faf Du Plessis to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022.
Vaughan predicted that RCB can end their title drought this year having won five out of their seven games in the IPL 2022. RCB is currently at the second spot in the points table.
"Without doubt @RCBTweets are the real deal this year under @faf1307," Vaughan tweeted after RCB defeated Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by 18 runs on Monday.
Without doubt @RCBTweets are the real deal this year under @faf1307 !!! #IPL2022
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) April 19, 2022
Coming to the match, skipper Du Plessis' 96-run knock and Josh Hazlewood's four-wicket haul helped RCB register a comfortable victory over Lucknow.
It was a chase that never really took off for the KL Rahul-led side. They lost wickets to the new ball, with Hazlewood wreaking havoc upfront and once the first six overs weren't utilised, the pressure started to mount.
Former RCB skipper Virat Kohli, too, was impressed with the team's performance.
"Another game, another win. Onwards & Upwards," Kohli shared RCB's celebration pictures on the KOO app after the win.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul has been fined 20 per cent of his match fee for breaching the IPL Code of Conduct during the match against RCB.
According to an official statement from IPL, Rahul admitted to the Level 1 offence of the IPL Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction.
Apart from him, Lucknow's all-rounder Marcus Stoinis has also been reprimanded for breaching the IPL's Code of Conduct. He also admitted to the Level 1 offence of the IPL Code of Conduct and accepted the sanction.
Lucknow will be going up against Mumbai Indians for their next IPL 2022 clash on Sunday at Wankhede Stadium.
