RR Vs PBKS Preview: Punjab Kings bolstered by Kagiso Rabada's return against Rampaging Rajasthan Royals

RR Vs PBKS: Rajasthan Royals to play their first home at Guwahati.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will play host to Punjab Kings (PBKS) in match no. 8 of Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL 2023) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati - a new home for the Royals along with the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. This will be the first time that Guwahati will host an IPL match in its corridors. 

Sanju Samson-led RR was clinical in all departments in their opening game of this season. First, with the bat, the top order came out all guns blazing with the top three batters raking in the majority of the runs for their team. Buttler, Jaiswal, and the captain, Samson himself did the bulk of the scoring with a few contributions lower down the order to provide the finishing touches. The bowling unit complemented their efforts with an equally dominant performance, strangling the batting unit of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Trent Boult was lethal upfront with quick wickets and Yuzvendra Chahal with his chicanery wreaked havoc in the middle overs. 

Similar was the case of Punjab Kings. Asked to bat first by Kolkata Knight Riders, the Kings were off the blocks with a flyer. Bhanuka Rajapaksha was the only batter with a half-century but there were some more noteworthy contributions by the other batters. The seamers then did their job, choking the KKR batters right from the word go. Arshdeep Singh was the chief wrecker for them. 

Both teams with winning momentum their side will look to carry forward with the same in this fixture. It will be interesting to watch out which team will prevail over the other. 

RR vs PBKS Pitch Report

Going by the history of games at this venue, it is expected that the batters will be on song as a high-scoring game is in cards. Under the lights, the pacers might upset the batters in the initial few overs. And if you are a spinner, you would not want to be under the spotlight. 

RR vs PBKS Team News

When you are winning there’s generally very minimal scope for altering your playing XI. With both teams, off with a great start to their IPL 2023 campaign, expect a similar XI except for one change in the Kings' setup. Their ace pacer, Kagiso Rabada has joined the camp and it will be a talking point whether he should be included in the XI in place of Nathan Ellis or not who bowled pretty decently. 

For RR, unless there’s an injury scare, nothing seems to change for them in their playing XI for this game. Although they might try to bring a new player this time as their impact player as per the situation. 

RR Vs PBKS Head-to-head

Matches: 24

Rajasthan Royals: 14

Punjab Kings: 10

RR vs PBKS: Players to watch out for

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal

Coming into this edition of IPL on the back of a good domestic season, Jaiswal was magnificent in the opening game of IPL 2023 against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Scoring 54 runs off just 37 balls, Jaiswal showed that he is here for another good season. Guwahati with its high offering for the batters, Jaiswal can be as destructive as one can get which makes him a top contender for the match.

Punjab Kings: Arshdeep Singh

When the going gets tough, tough gets going and that’s the case for this left-arm seamer. He loves to be under the pump and that’s when you gain the most out of him. After a brilliant spell against KKR, he will be raring to go once again. Since Guwahati will have something to offer for the pacers, he will be the best deployment for the Kings to make the most out of it. 

RR Vs PBKS Probable Playing XIs:

Rajasthan Royals Playing XI:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (C&Wk), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal

Punjab Kings Playing XI:

Shikhar Dhawan (C), Prabhsimran Singh (Wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh

RR Vs PBKS Match Facts

History favours the Royals against the Kings.

In the last 5 encounters between the two sides, the Royals have an upper hand winning 4 out of the 5 matches.

Sanju Samson is 3 runs away from scoring 1000 runs as RR Captain.

RR Vs PBKS Live Broadcasting

IND: Star Sports Network (TV) | JioCinema (Live Streaming)

UK: DAZN, Sky Sports

AUS: Fox Sports, Kayo Sports

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and join our community on Telegram.