Preview:
The Rajasthan Royals and the Punjab Kings are fundamentally similar teams, despite the latter’s change in name. Both are dependent on their big-hitters who carry the side down through the lower order, and their opening clash may very well turn out to be a thrilling prospect which kicks off this season in spirit with a high-scoring affair.
IPL Season: 14
Rajasthan Royals will take on Punjab Kings.
Venue and Time : Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai at 7.30 PM.
Team News:
Rajasthan Royals
Their previous campaign spiralled out of control after a strong start, mainly because they had managed to build a strong core of superstars without getting enough from their supporting crew. This time around, they’ll be missing their MVP Jofra Archer, which puts even more pressure on their indigenous talent. But the mantle for leading the attack can potentially fall on either of two foreigners – Mustafizur Rahman or Andrew Tye. The success of the team rests on how well the bowling attack coordinates itself in the absence of a force like Archer. But this may very well turn out to be a blessing in disguise, because the spin duo of Rahul Tewatia and Shreyas Gopal have blossomed into an effective duo.
Punjab Kings
One would not have expected them to find a settled eleven after a disastrous start to their previous season. But they have their core group sorted out, which will help them heading into the current season. The big question is whether they will play Gayle or Malan and if Gayle gets in, where will they play him? Mayank and KL Rahul. Gayle’s recent batting exploits for the Windies at No3 encourages the notion that the Kings will retain their practice from last season, even though Rahul is a more productive – and faster – batsman from one-drop.
Something you should know about,
In 2013, Sanju Samson made his IPL debut against Punjab. Hit the winning runs in that game. Now In 2021, Sanju Samson will make his IPL captaincy debut against Punjab.
Head-to-head
RR Wins: 12
PBKS Wins: 9
Probable playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals: 1 Ben Stokes, 2 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Jos Buttler, 5 Riyan Parag, 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Rahul Tewatia, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Andrew Tye, 11 Kartik Tyagi
It can be either Tye or Livingstone.
Punjab Kings: 1 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Chris Gayle, 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Moises Henriques, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Jalaj Saxena, 8 Riley Meredith/JheyRichardson, 9 Ravi Bishnoi, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed Shami
It can be either Malan or Gayle.
Key players to watch out for
Rajasthan Royals: Ben Stokes, Rahul Tewatia and Chris Morris
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul, Nicholas Pooran and Mohammed Shami
Faceoffs today
Gayle v Morries
Tewatia v Gayle
Buttler v Shami
Stokes v Meredith
Pitch report
The pitch is expected to continue from where it left off, and be the highest-scoring venue in the opening stages of the IPL. The dew factor is likely to influence the skipper on either side of the contest to field first if they win the toss.
Dream11 for today's match.
Predictions
The sides are evenly matched, but we predict a Punjab Kings victory because they’re a more settled unit, and the Rajasthan Royals can be expected to need a few games to figure out their best eleven – which puts the former in a position of comfort to win this opening bout.
Thanks for reading.
Abhijato Sensarma 🏏❤
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