In Short
- Both PBKS and RR started their campaigns with wins
- Kagiso Rabada has joined the Kings
- There is no update on Liam Livingstone’s injury
By Sabyasachi ChowdhuryThe Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati is set to make its debut in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when Sanju Samson’s Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Wednesday, April 5.
The Kings will be high on confidence after beating Nitish Rana’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 7 runs (DLS Method) at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. They will also be bolstered by the return of Kagiso Rabada, who is one wicket short of becoming the fastest bowler to 100 wickets in the IPL.
Rabada recently played in the ODI series against Scott Edwards’ Netherlands and looked in pretty good form. Rabada is expected to replace Nathan Ellis in the PBKS XI for the upcoming contest.
The Royals, on the other hand, are unlikely to tinker with their winning combination. They defeated the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 72 runs at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson scored half-centuries.
Once Trent Boult removed Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi in the very first over, RR never looked back. Yuzvendra Chahal also picked up a four-wicket haul to again show why he is deemed as one of the best in the business.
Previous meeting
The Royals beat the Kings by six wickets when the two teams last met in 2022 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Yashasvi Jaiswal became the Player of the Match after he scored 68 runs off 41 balls with nine fours and two sixes. The Royals chased down a stiff target of 190 with two balls to spare. Chahal picked up three wickets in that game.
Head to Head
Matches24 | RR – 14 | PBKS – 10
Injury concerns
RR
The Royals had lost fast bowler Prasidh Krishna earlier from the entire tournament due to a back injury. Sandeep Sharma was brought in as his replacement. Obed McCoy is also nursing an injury. Apart from that, there is no injury concern as such in the RR camp.
PBKS
Liam Livingstone missed the first game due to a knee injury and there is no update on whether or not he will be available for the match against the Royals.
Pitch Report
The average score at the venue in 3 T20Is is around 185, which means that a high-scoring match is on the cards. Back in 2022, India and South Africa played a game in Guwahati where 458 runs were scored in 40 overs. Bowlers won’t have much room for error.
Predicted Playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (capt, wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Jason Holder, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Punjab Kings
Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, M Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada
Ryleigh Mante
Trace Hane
Isaac Tremblay