Rajasthan Royals hope to seek an extension of dominance against a high-flying Punjab Kings

As the antiquity of today’s IPL fixture goes, this game has produced a deluge of runs in recent times, particularly after the IPL started being confined to a handful of venues due to the unwanted advance of the menacing pandemic three years ago.

As the boundaries shortened down and with the surfaces that were so well-suited to the power hitting, 2020 witnessed Rahul Tewatia smashing a miraculous knock to help Rajasthan Royal chase down a mammoth 224. As the caravan arrived in Wankhede in 2021, it was another buoyant show of runs as the two teams posted a staggering total of 438 runs.

For Punjab Kings, it is a simple calculation. They won’t be holding back at any cost and with the kind of imperious showdown in the opener, they will be desperate to showcase their hitting flair again but this will be the second game where they will be without the likes of one of their finest strikers of the ball, Liam Livingstone. However, with Shikhar Dhawan leading from the front, it hasn’t been much of a challenge for the Kings and they will be desperate to showcase their emphatic form in another fixture as well.

With all said and done, Rajasthan Royals have an excellent bowling unit that left the Sunrisers Hyderabad spinning in a downward spiral in their first game of the tournament. Atop their swashbuckling bowling mafia, they also have a strong batting contingent that allowed them to rack up the total without any trouble whatsoever.

This is going to be a crackerjack of a contest considering the presence of power hitters on both sides. Keeping in mind the Northeast factor, this is going to be an even better display of the power-hitting flair, particularly due to the smaller dimensions of the ground.

Head to head:

Matches played: 24

RR - 9

PBKS - 14

Match Details:

Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings

Venue: Barsapara Stadium

Date: 5th April, 2023

Time: 7:30 PM

Squads:

Rajasthan Royals:

Sanju Samson(w/c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Dhruv Jurel, Sandeep Sharma, Murugan Ashwin, Donavon Ferreira, Kunal Singh Rathore, Abdul Basith, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy, KC Cariappa, Akash Vasisht, Adam Zampa, Joe Root

Punjab Kings:

Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh(w), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Matthew Short, Harpreet Singh Bhatia, Atharva Taide, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh, Raj Bawa, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Kagiso Rabada, Baltej Singh