Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), the two teams reeling in the bottom-half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) standings, face each other in Match 66 at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday, with hopes of keeping their slim playoff hopes alive.
IPL 2023: Full coverage | Points table | Schedule | Results | Orange Cap | Purple Cap
Both PBKS and RR are placed eighth and sixth respectively in the points table, with 12 points each from 13 matches. And a loss for either team on Friday will bring curtains down on their IPL campaign.
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At the moment, RR have a better NRR (+0.140) than PBKS (-0.308).
A win on the other hand would take either team to 14 points from as many matches. Even a win for either team would not ensure them a place in the playoffs, as they would have to hope both Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) lose their final games. Both RCB and MI are on 14 points, while KKR have 12 points.
Against Delhi Capitals (DC), PBKS lost the momentum and their bowlers ended up conceding 41 runs from the last two overs to let DC post 213/2.
Prithvi Shaw (54) and David Warner (46) made the best use of the powerplay after they were asked to bat, and forged a 94-run stand for the first wicket. However, DC still needed an unbeaten 82 from Rilee Rossouw to post a total in excess of 200
Tactical blunders were also a major highlight in PBKS’ 15-run defeat to DC. In their reply, after having lost Shikhar Dhawan (0) early, Atharva Taide (55) notched up a half-century, and “retired out” in the 15th over to let Jitesh Sharma come out and bat. However, Jitesh was dismissed for a three-ball duck and even a knock of 94 from Liam Livingstone could not save Punjab Kings.
Prabhsimran Singh was brought in as Impact Player during PBKS’ chase, and the team management could do the same against the Royals.
Should PBKS bat first, they could bring Prabhsimran then, and then replace him with a bowler during RR’s chase.
Concerns for RR range from Sanju Samson and Jos Buttler’s batting woes to Impact Player strategies, and that has hurt their momentum in the second half of the season.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, though, has been a major positive for RR, but it will be paramount that RR’s top three batters fire collectively.
PBKS vs RR: Head-to-head
Both Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals have faced off in the IPL on 25 occasions, with RR having won 14 matches. PBKS, meanwhile, have registered 11 victories over RR.
The two teams last clashed earlier this season in Guwahati, when Punjab Kings emerged victorious. Knocks from Prabhsimran Singh (60) and Shikhar Dhawan (86*) led PBKS to 197 after they were asked to bat.
However, Nathan Ellis (4/30) and Arshdeep Singh (2/47) helped the Kings inflict a five-run defeat on the Royals.
PBKS vs RR: Form guide (Last five matches)
PBKS: L W L L W
RR: L W L L L
PBKS vs RR Date and Time
PBKS vs RR will be played on 19 May (Friday) at 7:30 PM IST. The match will be played at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.
PBKS vs RR TV coverage, live streaming
PBKS vs RR in IPL 2023 will be available on Star Sports Network for TV broadcast. The match will be live streamed on JioCinema app and website if you’re looking to live stream it.
PBKS vs RR squads
Punjab Kings: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Raj Bawa, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Harpreet Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Liam Livingstone, Mohit Ratee, Prabhsimran Singh, Kagiso Rabada, M Shahrukh Khan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Singh, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Atharva Taide
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c), Abdul Basith, M Ashwin, R Ashwin, KM Asif, Trent Boult, Jos Buttler, KC Cariappa, Yuzvendra Chahal, Donovan Ferreira, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Obed McCoy, Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, Kunal Singh Rathore, Joe Root, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Vasisht, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma.
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