The Punjab Kings are currently in seventh position in the IPL points table. They have played five games and secured two victories. At present, they have four points and a net run rate of -0.196. The Punjab Kings played their last IPL match in Mullanpur against the Sunrisers in Hyderabad. Bowling first in this competition, the Sunrisers scored 182 runs, losing nine wickets in twenty overs. The Punjab Kings made a valiant attempt to chase down this score but fell short by two runs. In their last game, Arshdeep Singh emerged as the most successful bowler for the Punjab Kings. He returned with figures of 4-0-29-4. He was supported by bowlers such as Sam Curran and Harshal Patel, who each took two wickets. Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada also took one wicket. Despite the disappointing start, the Punjab Kings made a brave attempt to achieve this result. Initially, Sam Curran and Sikandar Raza, and later Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, brought their team closer to the target.
Despite a close defeat to the Gujarat Titans in one of the early IPL matches, the Rajasthan Royals still lead the points table. They have accumulated eight points in five games and have won four out of their last five matches. Currently, their net run rate stands at +0.871. In the previous match, the Rajasthan Royals were mostly in control. They were all set to secure their fifth consecutive win in the competition, but Rashid Khan had other ideas. In their efforts, the Rajasthan Royals posted a competitive total of 196 runs on the board. This was largely possible due to the efforts of their captain Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag. Both of them crossed fifty, guiding the Rajasthan team to a competitive total. Among the Rajasthan bowlers, Kuldeep Sen emerged as the standout performer. The fast bowler took three wickets for 41 runs from his four overs. Yuzvendra Chahal also claimed two wickets for 43 runs from his quota of four overs. All bowlers, except Trent Boult, made significant contributions.
