IPL  2021: Match 04, RR vs PBKS
IPL 2021: Match 04, RR vs PBKS

IPL 2021: Match 04, RR vs PBKS

RR vs Pbks

RR vs PBKS in IPL 2021 Live Score: Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings, 4th Match, Live Cricket Score, Commentary- Follow LIVE

Rajasthan Royals will face Punjab Kings in the fourth match of IPL 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. Both teams had disappointing campaigns in the UAE last year. While Rajasthan finished last with 12 points from 14 games, Punjab were at the number six spot only because of their superior rate. But teams will thus be keen to significantly improve their performances this season. As RR and PBKS get set to kick-off their IPL 2021 campaign, we take a look at three-player battles to keep an eye on.

1. Jos Buttler vs Mohammed Shami :On his day, England’s dazzling wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler can make a mockery of any attack in the world. He has all the strokes in the book and is unarguably one of the most destructive hitters in world cricket today. Buttler has tasted a lot of success with Royals over the years. His best came in 2018 when he hammered 548 runs in 13 games at a strike rate of 155.24. That season, he also equalled Virender Sehwag’s record by posting five consecutive half-centuries. He has scored over 300 runs in the following two seasons but the consistency has been missing. Buttler will be keen to get it back this season. Monday’s encounter is all set to mark the comeback to competitive cricket of Mohammed Shami. The Team India pacer has been out of action since injuring himself while batting during the Adelaide Test late last year. Shami will be keenly looking forward to getting the ball in his hand again. He stood out for Punjab last season with 20 wickets from 14 games. The veteran pacer has the variations and the experience to unsettle and trouble even a T20 master like Buttler. The franchise will be looking up to him to win this key battle.

2. KL Rahul vs Chris Morris: Punjab captain KL Rahul had a standout season last year. Even as the franchise struggled, Rahul ended up winning the Orange Cap, amassing 670 runs from 14 games a strike rate of 129.34. Rahul scored one hundred and five fifties last season, a proof of his amazing consistency. However, his aggression is one area where Rahul can certainly improve. Last year, Punjab struggled to get over the line because Rahul and a few others did not throw caution to the wind at the right time. There is still some work to do then for the PKBS skipper in the batting department. With Jofra Archer being ruled out due to injury, Chris Morris, the most expensive purchase at the auction, seems all set to be given the new ball by Rajasthan. Bowling in the powerplay is not something alien to Morris. He has done it in the IPL in the past with a reasonable amount of success. While Morris has the experience as well as the variations needed to do well, he tends to give away a few runs. Rahul can look to attack Morris and get some quick runs on the board. Alternately, it also presents Morris with a chance to get his scalp.

3. Sanju Samson vs Ravi Bishnoi: Rajasthan’s new captain Sanju Samson will be keen to make a mark as both leader and player. Although he is talented, Samson has a tendency to throw his wicket away with poor strokes. He had a bizarre IPL 2020. Samson began with two cracking fifties but as the season progressed failed to do anything substantial. After 14 games last year, he finished with 375 runs at a strike rate of 158.89. The season began with a bang for Samson but ended in a whimper. The keeper-batsman played some forgettable strokes when he got a chance to represent India as well. Young leggie Ravi Bishnoi had a highly impactful IPL debut last year. Coming back from a standout U-19 World Cup campaign, Bishnoi ended up playing all 14 games for Punjab and picked up 12 scalps. More than the wickets, it was the youngster’s attitude to compete that stood out. He was not afraid to challenge the best. As mentioned above, RR skipper Samson tends to play rash shots. Being a leggie, Bishnoi will spin the ball away from the right-hander and should look to induce an error from the unpredictable batsman

Rajasthan Royals, Punjab Kings, RR vs PBKS, Head-to-Head, IPL 2021, Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings have made many changes like they do every year. One of their costliest buy in the IPL auction was Jhye Richardson who should make his debut in the Opener of PBKS Journey in IPL 2021.As always the have a indian middle order who should look to perform in crucial situations. Here’s the predicted Playing 11 of PBKS in their 1st game vs Rajasthan Royals,

  1. KL Rahul
  2. Chris Gayle/Mayank agarwal
  3. Mayank agarwal/Dawid Malan
  4. Mandeep Singh
  5. Nicolas Pooran
  6. Sarfaraz Khan
  7. Mohammed shami
  8. Chris Jordan
  9. Ravi Bishnoi
  10. M Ashwin
  11. jhye Richardson

This is the most Ideal and balanced team combination that PBKS should be playing with coming into their 1st game vs Rajasthan Royals. It would be interesting to see how and where will Dawid malan, the No.1 Ranked T20 batsmen is given a place in this team and how it will bring the best out of him.

Rajasthan Royals on the other hand have got plenty of options for each role to play by their players and is definitely looking a bit versatile squad than PBKS. They have got likes of Butler,Stokes,Archer and David Miller as well. Here’s the predicted Playing 11 of RR vs PBKS,

  1. Jos Butler
  2. Yashaswi Jaiswal
  3. Ben stokes
  4. Sanju samson
  5. Riyan Parag/Rahul tewatia
  6. Chris Morris
  7. Shreyas Gopal
  8. Shivam Dube
  9. Jaydev Unadkat
  10. Mustafizur Rahman /Jofra Archer

This above Playing 11 is the most Ideal one in case if jofra Archer isn’t playing. A lot bowling options will be there for Sanju samson to choose from and this playing 11 also gives a lot of depth in the batting as well.

Pitch Conditions:

As Always Wankhede is a batting wicket which as a little advantage when chasing because of the dew coming in, also the wicket gets slower and there a chance for wicket having something to offer for the fast bowlers in the first innings. So the most Ideal thing to do after winning toss would be to bowl first.

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