Punjab Kings (PBKS) will take on Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 66th game of the IPL 2023 on Friday (May 19) at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala. It will be the last group stage game for both teams. PBKS have won six out of 13 games so far and are in 8th place in the points tally. RR have won six out of 13 matches and are in sixth position in the points table. The result of this game might not have much impact on PBKS’ chances of qualifying for the playoffs, while RR might go through if they manage to win this match.
PBKS faced Delhi Capitals in their previous game, where PBKS won the toss and elected to bowl. DC made 213 runs for the loss of two wickets. The top-order were in brilliant form as the duo of David Warner and Prithvi Shaw added 94 runs for the first wicket. Shaw scored 54 runs off 38 deliveries. Rilee Rossouw played a crucial role for DC with the bat and made 82 runs off 37 deliveries. PBKS lost the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan in the second over for a duck. Atharva Taide and Liam Livingstone scored half-centuries. Livingstone made 94 runs off 48 deliveries, his highest individual score in IPL. But, PBKS fell short of the target by 15 runs as they could make only 198 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs. Rossouw won the Player of the Match award.
RR suffered an embarrassing loss at their home ground in Jaipur in the previous game against Royal Challengers Bangalore. RCB won the toss and elected to bat. They put in a total of 171 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs with the help of half-centuries from Faf du Plessis and Glenn Maxwell. In reply, RR were dismissed for just 59 runs in 10.3 overs, and only two batters could make a double-digit score.
In the IPL, RR and PBKS have met on 25 occasions. Out of these encounters, RR emerged victorious in 14 matches, while PBKS secured the win in the remaining 11 games. In their recent battles, RR have had the upper hand, winning three out of the previous five games. However, in their most recent clash this season, PBKS emerged as the winners.
PROBABLE PLAYING XI
Punjab Kings
Shikhar Dhawan(C), Shahrukh Khan, SM Curran, A Taide, LS Livingstone, JM Sharma(wk), RD Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Nathan Ellis, Arshdeep Singh, K Rabada
BENCH : P Simran Singh, B Rajapaksa, Sikandar Raza, R Dhawan, Harpreet Singh, MW Short, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh, Rajangad Bawa, Baltej Singh, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Gurnoor Brar
Rajasthan Royals
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, JE Root, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jos Buttler, SV Samson(C), DC Jurel, Trent Boult, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma
BENCH : Devdutt Padikkal, R Parag, Jason Holder, NA Saini, D Ferreira, Murugan Ashwin, Kunal Singh Rathore, Abdul Basith, AP Vasisht, KC Cariappa, OC McCoy, KR Sen, Kuldip Yadav, A Zampa
PITCH REPORT
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala is expected to provide an intriguing contest between bat and ball. The pitch favors stroke play initially, but pacers can become prominent as the match progresses. Both PBKS and RR have formidable batting lineups and varied bowling attacks, ensuring an exciting clash. The toss could play a crucial role in this match. The team winning the toss might consider bowling, capitalizing on the relatively better bowling conditions in the early stages. In the first game this season, the pacers picked seven out of the eight wickets.
