RR vs PBKS, Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, Match Preview, Prediction

Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) are ready to begin their campaign in the IPL 2021 as they will face each other at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai) this Monday (12th April) night.

In the last IPL season (IPL 2020), Rajasthan Royals finished in the eighth position while Punjab Kings (known as Kings XI Punjab till IPL 2020) finished in the sixth position in the points table.

IPL 2021, Match 4: Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings (RR vs PBKS) – Match Preview

Rajasthan Royals (RR)

Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, RR vs PBKS, Match Preview, Prediction, IPL 2021
Rajasthan Royals (Image Credit: Twitter)

The inaugural IPL winners Rajasthan Royals (RR) have mostly struggled to maintain consistency and that’s why they have never reached the final for the second time.

Sanju Samson is ready to become the sixth captain of Rajasthan Royals as he will lead the for the first time this Monday. England cricketer Jofra Archer’s absence is the biggest hurting for Rajasthan Royals as he became the Most Valuable Player in the IPL 2020 (for scoring 113 runs and taking 20 wickets) despite the team finished in the eighth position in that season.

Read More  4,4,6,4,6: Riyan Parag destroys Anrich Nortje, hits him for 25 runs in an over (Watch Video)

However, they have other strong foreigners like Ben Stokes (England), Jos Buttler (England), Liam Livingstone (England), Andrew Tye (Australia) besides the most expensive player in IPL Auction history Chris Morris (South Africa). But, another South African cricketer David Miller and Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman will miss the first game due to quarantine rules. In the Rajasthan Royals team, foreigners have always played huge roles.

Among the Indians, captain Sanju Samson is definitely their key man who was their leading run-scorer in the last IPL season. Also, they have some players like Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Shivam Dube, Jaydev Unakat, Manan Vohra etc. Indian cricketers need to put the stronger characters in the IPL 2021 which can help Rajasthan Royals to improve their status in this tournament.

Full Squad

Sanju Samson (C), Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer (currently unavailable), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Andrew Tye, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Chris Morris, Shivam Dube, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, KC Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh.

Punjab Kings (PBKS)

Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, RR vs PBKS, Match Preview, Prediction, IPL 2021
Punjab Kings (Image Credit: Twitter)

After playing the first 13 IPL editions as the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), they have now come up with the new name Punjab Kings (PBKS) as the IPL 2014 runners-up believe that it may change their recent tough lucks. After the IPL 2014 final, they have never qualified for the playoffs.

Read More  KKR camp divided in 2 groups ahead of RCB clash? Andre Russell provides insight about the dressing room atmosphere under Chandrakant Pandit

Captain KL Rahul is definitely the biggest name in the squad who has maintained his incredible consistency with the bat in the last three years, who scored 659, 593 and 670 runs respectively.

Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran also provided strong support to him but the middle-order batsmen struggled to control the game as they lost few games due to their weak middle-order batting. Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Fabian Allen etc can help to change this image in the IPL 2021.

They have the pacers like Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Ishan Porel, Jhye Richardson, Arshdeep Singh etc. Apart from Ravi Bishnoi, they have also the spinners like Murugan Ashwin, all-rounder Jalaj Saxena etc.

Apart from the top names, PBKS also have overseas cricketers Riley Meredith and Dawid Malan.

Full Squad

KL Rahul (C), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Dawid Malan, Shahrukh Khan, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Saurabh Kumar, Fabian Allen.

IPL 2021, Match 4: Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings (RR vs PBKS) – Match Prediction

KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, RR vs PBKS, Match Preview, Prediction, IPL 2021
Image Credit: Twitter

Both teams are going for a fresh start in this season, so, there is no strong favourite ahead of their first IPL 2021 match. Talking about their head-to-head records, Rajasthan Royals have achieved better success as they are leading it by 12-9 (including one Super Over defeat for Rajasthan Royals).

Read More  RR vs DC Weather Report Live Today And Pitch Report Of Sawai Mansingh Stadium– IPL 2024, Match 9