IPL 2021 | RR vs PBKS: Low-key in profile but high on ambition, another battle of wicket-keeper captains await
They might not be as chirpy as a Rishabh Pant or famous and cool as MS Dhoni, but the captains of Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings have an aura of themselves. Much like their team profiles, they are also lowkey but have high ambitions. While Sanju Samson is looking to get into the Indian team, KL Rahul on the other hand also had a very bad England series as far as T20Is are concerned and would look to utilise this IPL as a place to cement his name in the Indian T20 set up before the World Cup. Missing Archer shouldn't be an excuse for Rajasthan The best thing about the Rajasthan Royals over the year has been them not being a favourite before any season. While them being eternal underdogs might make them a sneak into the Playoffs, but that hasn’t happened ever since 2018. In fact, in the last two seasons, the team has finished bottom two. Given the fact that they missed their stars in both the seasons, they must now be attuned to it as they are going to miss one of their biggest stars, Jofra Archer this season as well. Archer was the MVP last year and this fact is enough to guess why his absence would be a great blow. But what is a hero if he doesn’t rise from adversities to get to the top of life? This is exactly what is required of the Royals. With a new coach and new captain in Kumara Sangakkara and Samson, the Jaipur team would want the likes of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, David Miller along with the most expensive buy this season, Chris Morris to ‘halla bol’ on their oppositions, and what better than the Punjabis to start with. All ingredients assembled, Punjabis ready to serve a spicy curry Punjabis are known for their heavy-duty approach. They are loud, they are entertaining and most importantly they are perfect in pulling a rabbit out of their hat when needed the most. Sadly though, the team from Punjab has been a complete contrast of all those traits since the past six seasons. The last season was somewhat better as they missed the cut to Playoffs by just a few inches. Now, they have what they badly needed- an aggressive top-order batter in the form of number one T20I batsman Dawid Malan and a super quick, hit the deck bowler in Australian Riley Meredith. Along with those players they have got Shahrukh Khan, a big-hitting late order batsman to give the finish alongside Nicholas Pooran. So Punjab has the players it takes to go bonkers this season, the question remains- Will they be able to? Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings: Match Details Match Number-04 Date and Time: April 12, 07:30 pm IST, 02: 00 PM GMT Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Broadcast and Live Stream; Star Sports and Hotstar Pitch Report The pitch at Mumbai as evident from the first game played between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals is a run-heavy wicket. Even 200 is not safe, but as a bowling side in the first innings, the team has chances to create some difficulties for the batting side in the wee hours of the match, utilising the sea breeze and non-dew conditions to get a swing. Weather and Toss The dew has been heavy at Wankhede. Conditions have been a bit humid as well, but not as much as expected from Mumbai. The temperature is going to be relatively low and would deep below 30 as the night progresses. The team winning the toss would go for a field first approach as MS Dhoni also said that the first half an hour is the only team that bowlers might get some help on that bounce friendly red soil wicket. Team News Rajasthan Royals Since David Miller wouldn’t be available for the first game and Jofra isn’t available either, the management has an easy choice to pick the best four foreign players. They would most probably go with Buttler, Stokes, Morris and Andrew Tye. Mustafizur Rahman could have been an option, but he would most likely not be available due to the quarantine period as well. Liam Livingstone could be a favourable choice as well given his recent form. It would be a tough call between Livingstone and Tye. Strongest XI Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Ryan Parag, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Jaidev Unadkat, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi Punjab Kings The Punjab team has all their players available and they would like to go with Malan, Meredith, Pooran and Jhye Richardson to start with. As far as the Indian players are concerned, Shahrukh Khan looks like a certainty in the XI. Strongest XI KL Rahul(c/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Riley Meredith, Murugan Ashwin Dream XI predictions / Fantasy XI suggestions Jos Buttler (c), Sanju Smason, Lokesh Rahul, Nicholas Pooran, Mayank Agarwal, Dawid Malan(vc), Liam Livingstone, Ben Stokes, Ravi Bishnoi, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith