The State of Play
The Rajasthan Royals’ 100 per cent record was ended in surprising, and dramatic, fashion last time out and they will be eager to get back to winning ways when they take on the Punjab Kings tomorrow.
The Royals went down by three wickets to the Gujarat Titans on Wednesday with Rashid Khan inspiring a last-ball win for Shubman Gill’s men.
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Captain Sanju Samson failed to hide his frustration after his team failed to make it five wins from their first five games. He said: “The captain has the hardest job in the league to speak after losing the game and to tell where we lost is tough. Maybe after a few hours, I can tell.
“You have to give credit to the Gujarat Titans the way they batted, bowled and fielded. We will learn from this and move on.”
Samson’s tactics were also questioned with New Zealand left-armer Trent Boult only bowling two of his allotted four overs despite the Royals struggling to keep a lid on Khan and Co.
Producing a better all-round display will be what’s required against a Kings side that has blown hot and cold.
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They have won two of their opening five matches and come into this contest on the back of a two-run defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
They required 29 off the final over and almost managed it through the brilliance of Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma.
Captain Shikhar Dhawan was full of praise for his young duo, saying: “It is great to see those youngsters coming in and chipping in. We are going to bounce back from this loss. There was always the hope that they could finish the game. Hats off to them that they brought it this close.
“It gives us confidence and hope for the next game. We have to do better in certain areas and improve.”
Punjab continue to miss the injured Liam Livingstone while his England colleague Jonny Bairstow has managed just 81 runs from his five innings.
PicturePerfect.𝐉𝐁G 😍🤌#SaddaPunjab #PunjabKings #JazbaHaiPunjabi #TATAIPL2024 pic.twitter.com/qDbgAKPOGw
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 12, 2024
Expected line-ups
Punjab Kings: Dhawan (c), Bairstow, Curran, Raza, S Singh, J Sharma (wk), A Sharma, Brar, A Singh, Patel, Rabada
Rajasthan Royals: Jaiswal, Buttler, Samson (c,wk), Parag, Hetmyer, Jurel, Ashwin, Boult, Khan, Kuldeep, Chahal
How to watch
Sky have the rights to show the IPL to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live. Saturday’s match will be shown on Sky Sports Cricket from 2.50pm BST.
In India, the games can be streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website. They are also available across the Star Sports Network.
Follow us to Chandigarh? 🔥👀 pic.twitter.com/7dNpLkppIe
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 12, 2024
Prediction
The Royals have enough matchwinners in their side that only one really needs to fire to give them a competitive total. Jos Buttler, Samson and Riyan Parag have all shown they are capable of changing the course of a game and we expect them to hold the edge tomorrow.
South Africa paceman Kagiso Rabada has been steady rather than spectacular and the home side could do with him firing to give them any chance.
We’re going for the Royals to make it five wins from six.
