The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) will have to improve on all fronts when they take on Punjab Kings in their second game of IPL 2024 on Monday.

It's a home game for RCB, but they will have to be on their toes to take full advantage of the conditions.

The Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore is known to be a paradise for batters, but RCB's batting line-up looked edgy in their defeat against the Chennai Super Kings in their season opener.

To make matters more difficult for the Faf du Plessis-captained team, rivals Punjab will have a spring in their steps having begun their season with a good win.

It's needless to say that for RCB to do well, it's imperative that one between Du Plessis or Virat Kohli has to have a a good day. They do have a Glenn Maxwell in the middle order, but for the Australian to go bang-bang with the bat, the team first needs a good start.

Scoring in the middle overs is also a serious concern for RCB. They tend to be too sluggish in the middle phase of their innings, which increases pressure in the death overs. With Punjab having someone like Arshdeep Singh in their ranks, RCB will do well not to leave it too late.

Young keeper-batter Anuj Rawat's performance in the Chennai game, however, is a positive that will boost RCB.

On the bowling front too, RCB will need to be tighter, but barring Mohammed Siraj, one wonders who else can give them that edge. They might try out pacer Reece Topley to surprise the opposition.

Punjab, on the other hand, looks more sorted. Their line-up is packed with power-hitters who can exploit the Chinnaswamy conditions better than the home team.