Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings, 8th Match
Today is the 8th match of IPL 16 edition, which will be played between Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings.
Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings, 8th Match
Rajasthan Royals won their last match in a very impressive manner, so they will look to retain their win and go on top of the points table.
Talking about Punjab Kings, Punjab Kings have also won their last match from Kolkata by DLS (method).
Big picture: High-scoring contest likely
This contest has produced some huge totals in recent seasons. At Sharjah in 2020, Rahul Tewatia played an iconic innings to help Rajasthan Royals chase down 224. At the Wankhede in 2021, Punjab Kings scored 221 but won by only four runs. Ground dimensions and pitch conditions were key factors in those high-scoring matches, and their clash in Guwahati could go the same way.
In October 2022, India and South Africa posted a total of 458 runs for the loss of just six wickets in a T20I at Guwahati. While both the Royals and the Kings scored big and won their opening matches this season, Sanju Samson’s men are at full strength while Shikhar Dhawan’s Punjab have to play without Liam Livingstone once again.
Despite the absence of Livingstone, the Kings batsmen hit hard from the start during the match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Dhawan played the role of anchor while others were explosive around him. The challenge will be to replicate this against a strong bowling attack.
The Royals would be looking to replicate their season opener against Sunrisers Hyderabad, with a top-order batting attack, a stellar performance with the new ball, and their spinners providing the squeeze.
Wednesday’s game will also be the first time the IPL will move to north-east India. In 2020, the Royals, who have a long-standing partnership with the Assam Cricket Association, were to play in Guwahati, but COVID-19 scuppered those plans.
Team news: No Livingstone, but Rabada’s in
Livingstone is still awaiting fitness clearance from the ECB and is yet to fly to India, but Kagiso Rabada has joined the Punjab squad after completing South Africa’s ODI series against the Netherlands on April 2. If Rabada is ready to go, he will replace Nathan Ellis. Eleventh. The only doubt for the Royals is West Indies pacer Obed McCoy, who is still nursing an injury.
Toss and Impact Player strategy
Rajasthan Royals
Possible XI:
- Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (c, wk), 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Riyan Parag, 7 Jason Holder, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Trent Boult, 10 Km Asif, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal.
- Royals subbed out Jaiswal for impact player Navdeep Saini during their defense against Sunrisers. Royals can repeat this or bring in a different fast bowler – Sandeep Sharma or Kuldeep Sen.
- Royals subbed out Jaiswal for Impact Player Navdeep Saini during their defence against Sunrisers. Royals could repeat that or bring in a different pacer – Sandeep Sharma or Kuldeep Sen.
Punjab Kings
Possible XI:
Stats that matter
- Buttler has had the upper hand in his battles against Rabada. In 11 innings in T20 cricket, Rabada has dismissed Buttler only once, while conceding 96 runs off 56 balls.
- Arshdeep keeps Buttler quiet( 21 runs conceded off 20 balls) but is expensive against Samson( 49 runs off 26 balls).
- Royals could consider bowling Ashwin early to Dhawan. In 13 innings, Dhawan has a strike rate of only 88 against Ashwin- 85 runs off 97 balls- and has been dismissed four times.
- Since IPL 2022, Royals have a 100 success rate of defending totals of 190. Trent Boult’s ability of taking wickets in the first over has certainly helped their defence. Boult has 17 first– over wickets since IPL 2020; the second– best- Jofra Archer- has only five.