PBKS vs RR Match Preview- IPL 2025, Match 18

Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be locking horns against each other in the 18th game of IPL 2025. The PBKS vs RR match will be played on Saturday (April 5) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh.

PBKS have won their first two games and will be fancying their chances of winning the third game as well. They have looked in great form so far and would be confident of beating RR as well.

In both games, they came up with an impressive performance. In the first game, PBKS beat Gujarat Titans by 11 runs after posting a mammoth total of 243/2 before inflicting an eight-wicket defeat on Lucknow Super Giants while chasing 172 runs.

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On the other hand, RR has won only one of their three games so far. They started their campaign with defeats against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders before beating Chennai Super Kings to open their account this year.

PBKS vs RR Match Preview- IPL 2025, Match 18:

PBKS vs RR, Date and Venue:

The upcoming PBKS vs RR match will be played on Saturday (April 5) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh.. The match is scheduled to be played from 7:30 PM IST.

Squads:

Punjab Kings:

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Nehal Wadhera, Praveen Dubey, Vishnu Vinod, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Xavier Bartlett, Lockie Ferguson, Josh Inglis

Rajasthan Royals:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag(c), Nitish Rana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dhruv Jurel(w), Shubham Dubey, Shimron Hetmyer, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma, Kunal Singh Rathore, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Kwena Maphaka, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Ashok Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi

PBKS vs RR key battles:

Shreyas Iyer vs Wanindu Hasaranga:

In-form Shreyas Iyer will be a big threat for RR in the upcoming game. The right-handed batsman has led his team from the very front in the first two games and will be eyeing another impactful outing as a batsman and a captain.

In the first game against the Gujarat Titans, he scored an unbeaten 97 before scoring another unbeaten fifty to help his side chase down 172 with ease against the Lucknow Super Giants. He will be looking to make another big score with the bat.

RR will be hoping that they get rid of Iyer as early as possible and will be relying on Wanindu Hasaranga for the same. The leg-spinner picked up 4 wickets in the last game and will be looking to make a similar impact against PBKS as well.

Sanju Samson vs Arshdeep Singh:

After playing the first three games only as a batsman, Sanju Samson is set to resume his captaincy duties. And the right-handed batsman will be keen to lead his team from the front. With RR in desperate need of a good run of form, the onus will be on their captain to take the responsibility.

Samson started his campaign in IPL 2025 with a 66-run knock before getting out for 13 and 20 in the last two games. He will be eyeing a big knock against PBKS.

The RR captain is more than capable of winning a game single-handedly, and PBKS will be looking to dismiss him as early as possible. The onus will be on their pace spearhead Arshdeep Singh to strike with the new ball and not let Samson get the start.

Prabhsimran Singh vs Jofra Archer:

Prabhsimran Singh scored a whirlwind fifty in the last game against LSG that put PBKS in the driver's seat. With form on his side, the PBKS opener will look to play another impactful knock.

RR will be hoping that Prabhsimran does not get the time to settle and will be relying on Jofra Archer to get rid of the PBKS opener as early as possible.

PBKS vs RR Key Players:

PBKS - Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, and Arshdeep Singh will be the key players for PBKS.

RR - Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Jofra Archer will be the key players for RR.

PBKS vs RR Weather Report:

The PBKS vs RR match is unlikely to be interrupted by rain as there is no prediction for rain in Mullanpur on the match day. The temperature is set to hover in the mid-20s during the match.

Conclusion:

With PBKS in great form and RR eyeing their second win of the season, the upcoming game promises to be a thrilling contest.