After registering three consecutive losses, former champions RR will look to cement themselves in the top 2 with a win over the Punjab Kings at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati. The Royals will enter in the absence of their explosive batsman Jos Buttler to finish their remaining matches on the winning side.

On the other hand, PBKS who are out of the season will look to win their last matches and salvage pride. Skipper Sam Curran will lead the team for the last time alongside Jonny Bairstow before leaving the side to join the England squad.

RR likely XI (If batting first)

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shubham Dubey, Ravichandran Ashwin. Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal

RR likely XI (if bowling first)

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Riyan Parag, Shubham Dubey, Ravichandran Ashwin. Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal, Nandre Burger

Impact Player: Nandre Burger, Dhruv Jurel, Tanush Kotiyan, Rovman Powell

PBKS likely XI (if batting first)

Prabhsimran Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sam Curran, Ashutosh Sharma, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vidhwarth Kaverappa

PBKS likely XI (if bowling first)

Prabhsimran Singh, Jonny Bairstow, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Sam Curran, Ashutosh Sharma, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Vidhwarth Kaverappa, Arshdeep Singh

Impact Players: Arshdeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis

Player Statistics (Rajasthan Royals)

Sanju Samson

RR skipper Sanju Samson has been the highest run-scorer for his team this season. The wicketkeeper-batsman has scored 486 runs in 12 matches at an average of 60.75 and a strike-rate of 158.31 with 5 fifties to his name. Samson’s highest score this season has been 86 runs.

Yuzvendra Chahal

Right-arm leggie Yuzvendra Chahal has topped the wicket-taking list for RR this season. Chahal has picked 15 wickets this season from 12 matches with his best figures being 3/11.

Players who can make a difference

Riyan Parag

Left-hand batsman Riyan Parag has looked in great form this season being the second-highest run-scorer of the team. Parag has scored 483 in 11 innings at a strike rate of 153.82. The youngster has smashed 4 fifties for his team.

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Royals opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has given a lot of rock-solid starts to the team this season. The youngster who will be playing in the absence of Jos Buttler will have a lot of onus on him against the PBKS. Jaiswal has scored 344 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 153.57 with a fifty and a hundred to his name.

Player Statistics (Punjab Kings)

Shashank Singh

Right-hand batter Shashank Singh has held the fort for PBKS when the opening order has failed to deliver. Shashank has scored 352 runs from 12 matches at an average of 58.67 and a strike rate of 168.42.

Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh has been one of the successful bowlers for PBKS after picking crucial wickets in the powerplay. Arshdeep has picked 16 wickets in 12 matches with a solitary four-wicket haul to his name.

Players who can make a difference

Sam Curran

PBKS skipper and all-rounder Sam Curran has made handy contributions with both bat and ball at crucial times for his team. As Curran will dawn the captain’s cap for the last time in this season he’ll surely look to end his stint on a positive note with his team having hit rock bottom and out of the playoffs race. Curran has scalped 14 wickets in 12 matches with 207 runs in his batting stint.

Harshal Patel

Harshal Patel has found his form emerging as the highest wicket-taker of the team this season. The right-arm bowler has picked 20 wickets from 12 matches at an average of 9.76.

Head-to-head

Both teams have met each other on 27 occasions and the Rajasthan Royals have dominated the head-to-head with 16 wins in their favour. The former champions also won their previous encounter against the Kings which happened earlier this season.

Pitch Report

The Barsapara Cricket Stadium is batting paradise in T20 matches with teams preferring to bat first and post healthy totals on the board. Last season, the ground hosted two IPL matches where both matches were won by teams batting first. As the venue hosts its first match of the season being RR’s second-home ground, teams will likely prefer batting first.

Match Prediction

As both teams come with consecutive losses in their last encounter, a win will be desperate from both ends. While PBKS are out of the season and will look to salvage pride, the Royals will look to go full throttle to strengthen their top-2 chances with a win over the former. Thus, RR will go in as the favourites to win the clash.

As per the Google Win Predictor, the win probability is in favour of RR with 57%.

Fantasy XI

Prabhsimran Singh, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c/wk), Rilee Rossouw, Riyan Parag, Shashank Singh, Sam Curran, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Sandeep Sharma, Arshdeep Singh (vc)

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