Punjab hope to continue winning momentum against Royals

As the weekend rolls on to another blockbuster Saturday, a classic double-header will kick off with an electric contest between the Punjab Kings and the Rajasthan Royals. In a high-voltage contest like this, it is almost impossible to predict who will relish the last laugh, especially considering Punjab King’s late resurgence and a sudden slump in form for the Rajasthan Royals.

Punjab will be soaring high on confidence as they take on the Royals, after securing a comfortable win against the high-flying Gujarat Titans. Their bowlers pulled off a rare showdown that would leave the Titans stunned and their batters made mince meat of the modest total posted by the current aces in the points table.

Rajasthan suffered another slump as they were floored by a struggling Kolkata Knight Riders in a more or less lopsided affair. Umesh Yadav would bring out another special performance to lead the charge for the Knights with the cherry in his hands while Nitish Rana and Rinku Singh would stitch together a match-defining partnership after a wobbly start to the affairs.

This is going to be an absolutely electric encounter considering almost similar statuses of both sides even though a few questions will be definitely asked. For Punjab, it is going to be a no-holds-barred display while for the Royals, they will be desperate to get back to winning ways as the struggles continue for their batters.

Venue Watch:

Wankhede has been exceptionally benign to the ones wielding the willows and given the fact that this is a day game, it could actually make the surface a paradise to bat on. The last game played at Wankhede was between the Royals and the Knights where a below-par total would signify some assistance for the bowlers. However, it was poor shot selection from the Royals that would cost them the game. Despite the last match producing a low aggregate, the surface has the potential to spawn a 400-plus battle.

Squads:

Punjab Kings:

Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Odean Smith, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, Sandeep Sharma, Atharva Taide, Vaibhav Arora, Ansh Patel, Raj Angad Bawa, Benny Howell, Rishi Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (wk), Baltej Singh, Writtick Chatterjee, Nathan Ellis, Prerak Mankad.

Rajasthan Royals:

Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler (R), Yashasvi Jaiswal (R), R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Arunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, James Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell

Match Details:

Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Date: 7th May 2022

Time: 3:30 PM IST