IPL 2021: RR vs PBKS Preview – Rajasthan, Punjab seek early momentum
Rajasthan Royals will begin the 2021 IPL season under the leadership of a new captain in Sanju Samson. Their first match will be against a strong and composed unit of Punjab Kings, led by KL Rahul. The match will be played at the high-scoring Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Both the teams have some solid power-hitters and should they be in form, we could have another high-scoring thriller.
Punjab Kings have added some new faces to their squad after finishing as the sixth-placed team in the 2020 season of the IPL. Rajasthan Royals, on the other hand, seems to have fixed their last season issues with the addition of some new signings. They would be looking for an improved show after finishing last on the points table in 2020. Rajasthan have won 12 matches head to head against Punjab Kings, while the latter have managed only nine wins against the former.
Match Info
IPL 2021 Match 4 – Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Head to head
Stat Attack
KL Rahul needs 78 runs to complete 2000 IPL runs for Punjab Kings.
Since 2018, Jaydev Unadkat has an economy of 10.05 in IPL, which is the highest in the tournament in the last 3 editions among the bowlers who bowled 50+ overs.
Team News
RR
Rajasthan Royals, ahead of the season, faced a major injury crisis when their star player and MVP of the last season, Jofra Archer was ruled out for the first few matches. Luckily, Royals have Chris Morris, who was bought for a record bid of INR 16.25 crores. David Miller who was in some good batting form for his national side could be tasked to play a role in the inexperienced middle-order of Royals. Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes are likely to open for Rajasthan this season, which makes Miller’s inclusion even more reasonable.
PBKS
After letting Sheldon Cottrell go after only one season, Punjab Kings have brought in Jhye Richardson for a huge sum of INR 14 crores. He is likely to start for them. Between Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran and Dawid Malan, Punjab might have to pick two and at this moment, the chances of the former two making it into the XI seems high. For the last slot, Punjab might go for Moises Henriques, who is an experienced T20 all-rounder and would provide a good balance to the XI.
Probable XI
