Punjab Kings have revamped their position in the Top 4 race and are eying to orchestrate another heist against another top side in the battle no. 52 of the Indian Premier League Season 15. Mumbai’s peerless Wankhede Stadium will be hosting this intense battle between Mayank Agarwal’s PBKS and the Rajasthan Royals side led by flamboyant Sanju Samson on Saturday.
The two franchises that topped the points table during the inaugural edition of the world’s toughest T20 league. Both sides have many historical similarities between them like clicking the prime during the reign of Australian captains and also having Bollywood celebrities as founding mothers. The new era of this rivalry has begun as the leadership command of both franchises is now held by two Southern captains with the potential to bring back the glory days.
A lot of buzz is going around the cricketing world as many fans and experts are unhappy with Punjab management’s decision of keeping Shahrukh Khan on the bench. The explosive Tamil Nadu finisher was dropped from the playing eleven after a series of initial failures. His place is now taken by Vidarbha wicket-keeper batsman Jitesh Sharma who is having drastic improvements game by game.
Yashasvi Jaiswal who was retained by the Royals ahead of the mega auction 2022 is also warming the bench due to initial failures and his inability to move down the order. Karun Nair was given a surprising start ahead of many high-profile names like Rassie van der Dussen and Daryl Mitchell in their recent Kolkata defeat where he failed to make his mark in the given opportunity.
What have they done so far?
It has been a rollercoaster ride for Punjab fans this season as they have witnessed the ultimate highs and lows of their side in the same season. After 10 matches, the Northerners are now standing in the 5th position having won half of their battles. The previous thumping win over the Gujarat Titans will give the Punjab roster a major boost ahead of another tough fixture and not just the final result but the way they squashed the table-toppers were commendable.
On the other hand, the new era of Rajasthan Royals has brought a strong character to the franchise which truly inspires every contributor to make a winning difference for his team. There are four fixtures left in their league stage campaign and the Jaipur-based franchise is just two wins away from making it to the IPL playoffs round after four years. They have lost the last two games and it will force Sanju Samson and co. to move out of their comfort zone and find back the winning ways.
Head to Head record
A super-over blast from the past!
The head to head count of this rivalry is currently helmed by the inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals with 13 victories. While the counterparts Punjab Kings are also not much behind and currently sailing on 10 wins against Royal Pinks. When Rajasthan hosted Punjab in the 2015 edition at their secondary home Ahmedabad, away side Punjab registered a super over win in the game which is still recounted as one of the most thriller IPL encounters of all time.
The previous face-off between these two combatants was also a memorable one where the Kings were about to chase the 186-run target but then the young speedster Kartik Tyagi arrived and snatched the game from the paws of Punjabi batters. When Kartik took the ball to bowl the final over, he only had four runs to defend while facing two destructive batters Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran.
Key Players
Wholesome scenes as Livingstone’s bat was checked by Rashid Khan when he hit the longest six of the season
Liam Livingstone: The English batting all-rounder has been the most consistent yet so destructive batter for his franchise. He has the best strike rate among the players who have scored 250+ runs this season and delivered blistering cameos with immense consistency. His monstrous strike against Gujarat pacer Mohammad Shami went for a humongous 117m six which is also the longest one of this edition till now.
Jos Buttler: The Englishman who is running the riots and scoring runs day in and out for fun. He is the first and only batsman to cross the landmark of 500 runs this season, scoring 588 runs from 10 innings including three centuries in the 2022 edition. It will be a huge task for the Punjab bowling unit led by Kagiso Rabada to stop this English storm marching towards them on Saturday.
Predicted Playing XI
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Karun Nair, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen
Prediction
Whether it’s batting or bowling, the Royals from Rajasthan are excelling in both departments and are also considered a well-balanced unit. Although just like the previous game, if Punjab manages to trample down the RR top order then there will be room for them to create a cruising momentum. Punjab knows how to turn the tables outta nowhere and Rajasthan must prepare themselves if the Kings go all out against them.