After the first half of the season, the Rajasthan Royals campaign has lost some momentum over the past couple of weeks. In the lead-up to this match, the team has lost 3 matches in a row. However, with 16 points to their name and an excellent net run rate, RR has good chances of making it to the playoffs. The team will need a strong start from Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal. While this duo has played some good shots, they lacked consistency. You can be assured that they will both work diligently from the outset and should deliver good performances more often than not. The biggest strength of the royal family members lies in their middle order. Riyan Parag and Sanju Samson have been in excellent form this season and are having their best IPL tournament yet. Both are averaging over 60 runs, and the team needs at least one of them to play a big inning. Shubham Dube and Dhruv Jurel face a clear but very tough task – to score quickly. Consistency is not to be expected from them, but they have managed to make an impact in the few opportunities they’ve had. Nonetheless, the team would like them to be more versatile in bowling matchups. As for the bowling, the RR bowlers have been quite consistent. Trent Boult and Avesh Khan have taken 11 wickets each, while Sandeep Sharma has 10 to his name. Yuzvendra Chahal is the team’s top wicket-taker with 15 wickets. This bowling attack is well-rounded, and we are quite confident that we will succeed against the struggling PBKS lineup.
The Punjab Kings will be very disappointed with how they have performed so far. For the tenth consecutive season, the team has failed to make it to the playoffs, and they have nothing to play for except pride. Shikhar Dhawan’s mid-season injury has undermined the team’s skill as they failed to find a worthy replacement. Prabhsimran Singh and Jonny Bairstow had decent starts but couldn’t turn them into big wins. Bairstow’s weakness against spin makes him vulnerable in the middle overs, and we have seen Ashwin come into the game for this reason. The middle order lacks a solid player capable of holding one end up. There are a couple of bright spots in the form of Shashanka Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, and the Kings will need to groom them for the upcoming seasons. The Punjab Kings also lack a solid all-rounder as Sam Curran’s form has deteriorated significantly this season. On the other hand, the bowlers have performed better. Harshal Patel is among the top performers of the season with 20 wickets (although his economy rate is concerning), while Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, and Sam Curran together have taken more than 30 wickets. In the spin department, there is Harpreet Brar, an underrated bowler who is capable of keeping things under control on most days.
