Punjab Kings will be taking on Rajasthan Royals in their last league match of IPL 2023 on Friday in Dharamsala. PBKS will be coming to this clash after facing a 15-run defeat against Delhi Capitals in a high-scoring match. On the other hand, RR were crushed by Royal Challengers Bangalore by 122 runs in their previous match. The chances of qualification for the both the teams are almost negligible as they now have to depend on other teams’ results despite getting a big win from today’s match.
PBKS went ahead with Kagiso Rabada in their Playing XI, resulting which Sikandar Raza had to be benched. There are chances that they might call back the Zimbabwe batter back into the attack. On the other hand, Trent Boult might get his place back, as he was replaced by Adam Zampa in the previous clash.
The pace department has been guilty of leaking too many runs in both the powerplay and death overs. With the likes of Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran and Arshdeep Singh conceding close to 10 runs per over, the team is bound to feel the pressure.
While Rabada has not been at his best, not using Arshdeep both in powerplay and death overs here on Wednesday night was expectedly questioned. The pacer has made his name nailing yorkers in the death overs and of late has troubled the opening batters with his swing.
Rajasthan Royals, who looked the team to beat in the first half of IPL with four wins from their first five games, only have themselves for their troubles.
Despite exemplary performances from the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Yuzvendra Chahal, the star studded outfit has flattered to deceive.
Jos Buttler too has played some sensational knocks but has not been consistent enough. Having being dismissed without scoring in the previous two games, the England batter will be itching to perform in the do-or-die game. Skipper Sanju Samson backs himself to take on the bowlers in any situation and he will continue to play the high risk game.
PBKS Predicted XI (including impact player): Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Sikandar Raza, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Ellis, Rishi Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh.
RR Predicted XI (including impact player): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(c & wk), Joe Root, Devdutt Padikkal/Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal.
