Saturday evening brings an exciting northern derby in the newly added venue at Mullanpur, featuring two teams: one sitting pretty at the top of the table and the other having had an up-and-down journey so far. It will be interesting to witness which team will triumph in this encounter.
Punjab Kings:
It's a familiar story for the Kings this tournament. Dhawan's side has won two and lost three matches in their five-match journey so far. They have faced major disappointment with their opener Bairstow (scored 81 runs from 5 matches) and young keeper J Sharma (scored 77 runs from 5 matches). The bowling unit which includes S Curran, K Rabada, A Singh have leaked runs while bowling first which is the area they will be looking to improve. Their sinking ship has got some balance by their uncapped stars Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma who have been batting really well in the middle order. With Royals having good batting line up, Kings bowlers will be looking to find solution to their bowling woes. They will be ready to roar against the Royals in the Saturday Clash.
Playing 11:
Shikhar Dhawan (C)
Jonny Bairstow
Prabhsimran Singh
Jitesh Sharma (WK)
Sam Curran
Shashank Singh
Sikandar Raza
Harpreet Brar
Harshal Patel
Kagiso Rabada
Arshdeep Singh
Impact Players: Ashutosh Sharma, Rahul Chahar
Rajasthan Royals:
The Royals have started the season with the bang and are one of the contenders for the title this season. They won 4 matches consecutively; 2 by defending the total and 2 while chasing. They were in contention to win the last match until last 2 overs. Royals have ticked almost every box with only concerned area for them; the form of their openers. Buttler and Jaiswal have got starts but have not been able to convert, though Buttler had hit one century. This season has bought the best of Riyan Parag who is in the orange cap race and along with the form of their skipper Samson, it’s making wonders for them. Their bowling department is one of the best in the tournament with two best spinners leading them in Ashwin and Chahal. Fast bowlers are bowling superbly in both powerplay and death overs. The last loss against Gujarat Titans might dent their confidence but Royals surely know how to comeback and will be looking forward to continue their winning ways.
Playing 11:
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Jos Buttler
Sanju Samson (C & WK)
Riyan Parag
Shimron Hetmyer
Dhruv Jurel
Ravichandran Ashwin
Trent Boult
Yuzvendra Chahal
Kuldeep Sen
Avesh Khan.
Impact Players: Keshav Maharaj, Nandre Burger.
Pitch report: Just two games played here have seen pacers claiming 23 wickets and with help of dew, teams winning the toss would opt to chase.
Head-2-Head: The two teams over the years have seen tough games with RR winning on 15 occasions out of 26 outings and Punjab 11.
Match details:
Time: 7.30 PM (IST)
Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur Stadium,Chandigarh.
Live Broadcast: Star Sports Network
Live Streaming: Jio Cinema app
Player to watch out:
Yashasvi Jaiswal:
The southpaw has got the starts but couldn’t convert it. In previous seasons, he has shown great potential and has built partnerships with Buttler. He has been struggling with left arm pacers this season and would be looking to improve this against Arshdeep Singh. A cracker of an innings is expected from him as RR look to move forward this season.
Jonny Bairstow:
The swashbuckling opener has been struggling for long time for PBKS. They have shown a lot of trust in him and it is the time to repay them. Having scored just 81 from 5 matches, there would be lot of pressure to deliver for Bairstow and if he does, it can help PBKS to come back on the track. One good innings and he can change the things around.
Harshal Patel:
Since winning the purple cap, it has been the downward line for Harshal Patel in IPL. Consistently leaking runs and not taking wickets has been backfiring the PBKS bowling line up. Known for his slower balls, he is another player who will be looking to deliver and give justice to his price tag and talent.
Dream XI:
