One Last match for both sides. The winner will stay alive in the tournament. The possibilities of 14 points qualification will give some hopes to the winning team in today's match but the defeated team's journey will end here. Apart from winning the Match, the team would also focus on boosting NRR and have to win by a big margin to avoid NRR clashes in the end.
Rajasthan Royals: The Rollercoaster journey of Royals reached the final destination. The Team who enjoyed most of the time at No.1 position are now on the verge of elimination. Royals who were dominating the first half , have now won only 2 matches out of last 8 matches they played. The team was all about the top 3 and finishers. The middle order failed to co-operate and bowling was not as lethal as they had been expecting. The in and out of Trent Boult and inconsistency of Indian fast bowlers cost them and they failed to make a balance team. Royals already lost their first match of the season against Punjab. This time they are eyeing those 2 points.
Punjab Kings: The same story repeating for Punjab Kings. They dominate the first half and then they fail miserably. They are the most consistent team in terms of not qualifying for playoffs. They had many big names yet they are playing do or die match and that too is not guaranteeing their qualification. Kings were let down by their bowling department and some tactical errors by Management. No fixed spots for players and some blunders in team selection. The millionaire Sam Curran not making much impact with the bat and too expensive with the ball. The death bowling has been a big concern for them. Shikhar Dhawan's Captaincy is questionable due to some miscalculation and blunders on the field which has been costing them big matches in this tournament.
PROBABLE XI:
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Butler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(C/WK), Joe Root, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Yuzi Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, KM Asif (Impact players: Devdutt Padikkal, Ryan Parag)
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan(C), Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Sikandar Raza, Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, Rahul Chahar (Impact players: Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar)
Stats and Head-to-Head:
- In head-to-head encounters in IPL
25 Matches - PBKS has won 11 games
- RR has won 14 games.
- In the last five games between both teams, PBKS won 2 matches while RR won 3 games.
- Arshdeep Singh has dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal twice in 10 deliveries and has conceded only 10 runs
- Nathan Ellis had picked up the wicket of Jos Buttler two times in eight deliveries in T20 cricket.
- Curran will be a good option against Sanju Samson, he dismissed the RR captain twice in 15 deliveries.
- R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal have dismissed Shikhar Dhawan three times apiece.
- Sandeep Sharma has played six T20s in Dharamsala and has picked up 10 wickets at an average of 14.20, with a strike rate of 14.40 and an economy of 5.91.
- Chahal has bagged 29 wickets in 18 games against the Kings.
- Ashwin has picked up 20 off 20 matches against them.
Weather and Pitch Report:
When: Friday, May 19 at 19:30 IST
Where: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
What to expect: With the short boundaries and a track with bounce and pace making it ideal for the batters. But there was some swing on offer early on in both innings in the last match and the bowlers will need to capitalize on that as they might end up suffering later. Another high-scoring game is on the cards.
Dream 11 Team:
