The 65th match of the tournament between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS). The match between them will start at 7:30 P.M. (IST).
When these two teams met against each other previously in this season, Shimron Hetmyer’s destructive knock towards the end, clinched the victory from the mouth of Punjab.
Teams Analysis:
Rajasthan Royals (RR):
The team was looking forward to an easy qualification for the Playoffs but suddenly things didn’t go to their favour and they lost 3 matches back to back and as a result the qualification is still not clear. They just need one win to confirm their place for the next round. Jos Butler already left the team due to the coming T20 series against Pakistan.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is playing some good cricket in the last few innings where he was seen scoring runs much easier than before. He has 344 runs with the bat where he scored one century and one half-century. He is striking with 153.57 in 12 matches till now. Skipper Sanju Samson might be seen to open with Jaiswal in the absence of Butler. The leader is leading the team from the front and has scored most runs for the team with 486 runs to his name. He has 5 fifties to his name and has an average of 60.75. He is mostly contributing runs with the bat and is highly consistent.
Riyan Parag also added valuable contributions to the team with 483 runs in 12 matches with an average of 60.38 in which he got par 50+ four times. He is also striking well and has a strike rate of 153.82. He can change gear easily as per the situation demands. Shimron Hetmyer has not been so influential in this season of IPL as he got only 83 runs in 7 innings. But his knock against Punjab, where he scored 27 runs in 10 balls during the chase, was the difference between the two teams. Now with the same opponent the same performance is highly expected.
Dhruv Jurel might get some promotion in the batting lineup and he has to make it worth it. With one half-century, he has 131 runs with the bat. His strike rate is 135.05 in this season. Shubham Dubey, who showed his power hitting in the match against DC where he scored 25 runs in just 12 balls, is expecting the same destruction in this match also.
Yuzvendra Chahal is the leading wicket-taker of the team with 15 wickets to his name but his economy keeps increasing match by match and is close to 10 (9.52). Despite getting wickets, he was mostly expensive in his spells that needed to be controlled.
Pacers Trent Boult and Avesh Khan both had 11 wickets to their pockets but Avesh being little expensive in his spells as his economy is 9.93 and mostly gave away runs in the death overs. Sandeep Sharma took 10 wickets till now but most importantly he took the wicket when the team required it the most.
Probable playing 11 for the match:
Sanju Samson (c/wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Rovman Powell, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Yuzvendra Chahal.
(Impact Player: Sandeep Sharma)
Punjab Kings (PBKS):
They are already eliminated from the Playoffs race as they only conceded 8 points in 12 matches. They are at the bottom of the points table with only 4 wins. Liam Livingstone already reached England due to his knee injury and for the upcoming T20 series against Pakistan. Sam Curran and Jonny Bairstow are still with the team but will leave soon.
Jonny Bairstow is looking more aggressive in his batting after making a comeback and scored a great century in the record chase against KKR. He has a strike rate of 164.16 and has managed 284 runs in 10 innings. Prabhsimran Singh due to his inconsistency with the bat was unable to set his rhythm. He has scored 257 runs in which only one half-century and that came against KKR.
Rilee Rossouw looked to find his rhythm after scoring a brilliant 61 runs knock in the last match against RCB, in which he took just 27 balls to reach there. Once again the team is expecting the same again. Shashank Singh has been seen going tremendously well in this season and is currently the most runs scorer for the team with 352 runs. His strike rate is 168.42 and has two 50+ knocks till now. He is the main reason behind Punjab’s success this season as much as they got.
Skipper Sam Curran is not so good with the bat after scoring a brilliant 63 runs knock against DC but has some achievements in the bowling as he got 14 wickets for his team till now. On the other hand, Jitesh Sharma is still struggling with the bat as he only managed 133 runs in 10 innings.
Harshal Patel is the leading wicket taker as he took 20 wickets and got the purple cap. Though he got wickets but on the other hand he is mostly expensive in his spells as his economy is 9.76 which is pretty much higher. Arshdeep Singh is also in the race in the wicket-taking department after grabbing 16 wickets till now but his economy is also on the higher side which is 10.32.
Rahul Chahar is a little better with his wrist spin in the past few matches and has taken a total 8 wickets till now. Kagiso Rabada has 11 wickets to his name.
Probably playing 11 for the Match:
Sam Curran ©, Prabhsimran Singh, Jonny Bairstow (wk), Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa.
(Impact Player: Ashutosh Sharma)
Head to Head (RR vs PBKS):
They played 27 matches against each other.
| RR | PBKS | |
| won | 16 | 11 |
| Highest score | 226 | 223 |
| Lowest score | 112 | 124 |
Pitch Report:
The match will be played at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. It is a much batting friendly surface and the teams can get par 200 runs easily. Chasing might be a good option here if the target is below 200. Pacers will get some help at the start and this might put pressure on the team if they get some early wickets.
Weather Report:
The weather on the match day will be partially cloudy with a 20% chance of rain. Still it is expected that both the teams will get to play full overs. The temperature will be highest at 35 degree celsius while the lower will be 27 degree celsius. Humidity will also be quite high and is expected to be around 70%.
Best 11 for the Match:
Jonny Bairstow (vc), Sanju Samson ©, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Sam Curran, Riyan Parag, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Sandeep Sharma.