Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals resume the second phase of IPL 2021 as they take on each other on September 21 in Dubai. This will be the third match of the second leg of the tournament since the restart in UAE. The match is set to take place in Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Royals were in 5th position in the points table with 3 wins in 7 matches, while Punjab Kings were in 6th place with 3 wins in 8 matches when the tournament was brought to a halt during phase 1. Both with a reasonable chance of making it into the playoffs, with the same points at this stage would be eager to make a dent in each others chances,
Earlier in the year when the two teams met, fans witnessed an entertaining encounter with Punjab posting a huge total back of some terrific batting by KL Rahul who scored 91 of 50 balls, and Deepak Hooda who scored 64 of 28 balls. Rajasthan Royals skipper followed it up with a scintillating knock of 119 off 63 balls but falling short by 4 runs.
Turn up the volume. Itโs showtime. ๐ฅ๐#HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily | #PBKSvRR | @KumarSanga2 pic.twitter.com/BKmL35ceih
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) September 21, 2021
Can Rajasthan Royals bring enough firepower to complete the task at hand this time around? Or will the Punjab Kings' resurgence prove too much to overcome?
Match Toss Time: 17:30 Local (19:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 18:00 Local (19:30 IST)
Match Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
Head to Head
Matches Played: 22, PBKS: 10, RR: 12
Weather Conditions and pitch
Team News
Punjab Kings will see the return of their captain KL Rahul to the playing XI alongside a few more changes as they replaced the likes of Dawid Malan, Riley Meredith, and Jhye Richardson with Aiden Markram, Adil Rashid, and Nathan Ellis. It is yet to be seen if the loss of these players stands to benefit the team or not, after failing to make much impact in phase 1.
The Royals have replaced Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, and Andrew Tye with Evin Lewis, Glenn Phillips, Oshane Thomas, and Tabraiz Shamsi going into the second phase of IPL 2021. With many changes to the squad and the return of a few stars, who missed out in the first half, the Royals will be looking to make quite a few changes to their lineup.
Probable Playing XI
Punjab Kings (PBKS): KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Aiden Markam/ Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals (RR): Evin Lewis/Liam Livingstone, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson David Miller, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Tabraiz Shamsi, Chetan Sakariya
Must-Picks
Indian Team players KL Rahul and Sanju Samson, both wicketkeeper batsmen are a must-have in your fantasy teams. With both being the cornerstone of their batting lineups.
In addition to these two, we also feel South African all-rounder Chris Morris who shined on the decks of UAE stands to make a great impact and Mohammed Shami who spearheads the Punjab Kings bowling attack.
Key stats
# Punjab Kings frontline pacer Mohammad Shami is 3 wickets away from claiming 50 wickets for the Punjab side. The 31-year old has picked up 68 wickets from the 71 matches he has played in the IPL.
# Punjab Kings destructive batsman Chris Gayle is just 50 runs away from scoring 5000 runs in the IPL. The Universe boss will be celebrating his 42nd birthday and what could be better if he manages to reach the milestone against the Rajasthan Royals. Will the Boss gift himself an unforgettable birthday gift?
๐ถ #๐๐ฃ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐จ๐๐ฝ๐ค๐จ๐จ, ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ฃ, ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) September 20, 2021
Have a cracking one, both on and off the field tomorrow ๐ฅ๐ฅณ#SaddaPunjab #HappyBirthday #PunjabKings @henrygayle pic.twitter.com/trkuKZ1FKb
# KL Rahul, the skipper of PBKS, who has 2978 runs to his name in the Indian Premier League will be hoping he can reach the 3000 runs milestone against the RR. If he does so, he will be the 18th player to achieve the milestone in this league.
# In the last 10 meetings, both the teams have won 5 apiece and they have also been part of an exciting super-over in the 2015 edition, in which the Punjab side finished on the winning side.
PBKS vs RR fantasy team
Captain and Vice-Captain picks
Prediction
Prospects of Punjab shine to a brighter future, with them showing a stronger team on paper with players in form and having a better experience. The loss of big-name players from the missing English contingent is sure to hurt Rajasthan Royals' chances.
Cricwizz predicts Punjab Kings to outshine Rajasthan Royals once again and jump to 6th place in the table.
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