The Match 65 of the Indian Premier League 2024 will pit RR and PBKS against each other on Wednesday, May 15 at Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. The contest may not seem mouth-watering from the outset. However, the fixture is extremely crucial for RR considering their position on the points table.
The Sanju Samson-led side had a dominating campaign for the majority of the season so far having won eight out of their first nine fixtures. However, they faced back-to-back losses in their last three fixtures which brought them down to the second spot on the points table having 16 points from 12 matches.
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The 2008 champions will be desperate to win both of their remaining fixtures to finish in the top two spots on the points table and get an extra chance to qualify for the finals. On the other hand, Punjab has had another forgettable campaign which has been exacerbated by the absence of their skipper Shikhar Dhawan from the sixth game onwards.
Under the leadership of Sam Curran, Punjab have only won two out of their last seven fixtures and are reeling at the last spot on the points table with four wins from 12 matches having eight points to their name. The 2014 runner-ups will look to end their campaign on a high by winning their remaining two games.
RR vs PBKS: Head to Head
RR have an upper hand over PBKS in terms of head-to-head records having won 16 out of the 27 matches played between the two teams. Furthermore, Rajasthan have also won six out of the last eight matches making them clear favorites of the upcoming encounter.
RR vs PBKS: Team News
RR will be without the services of their star opener Jos Buttler who has flown back to England for the T20I series against Pakistan. RR are likely to replace him with Tom Kohler Cadmore. On the other hand, PBKS will be without Liam Livingstone and Kagiso Rabada who’ve both flown back home ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024. Shashank Singh is also fit again to play after sustaining an injury in the previous game against RCB.
RR vs PBKS: Guwahati Pitch Report
The surface in Guwahati is expected to be a high-scoring one despite having long boundaries. The average first innings score in the last four T20 games has been just over 213 and dew is also expected to play its part during the game. The captain winning the toss will look to bowl first as has been the tradition so far in the tournament.
RR vs PBKS: Predicted XIs
RR Predicted XI
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
Impact Player: Nandre Burger/Rovman Powell
PBKS Predicted XI
Jonny Bairstow(w), Prabhsimran Singh, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sam Curran(c), Ashutosh Sharma, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa
Impact player: Harpreet Brar/Nathan Ellis
Published By:
Saurabh Kumar
Published On:
May 15, 2024
