Punjab Kings ready for table topper’s challenge

Tribune News Service

Deepankar Sharda

Mohali, April 12

Disappointed over the loss in their last matches, both Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be eyeing to grab full points during the IPL face-off at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium at Mullanpur here tomorrow.

New routes to parking lots

• Way to parking (P1, P2, P3) for fans entering through Gate number 1C, 1, 1A, 2, 3, 4: Turn from Dhanas lights junction
• Way to parking (P4, P5) for Gate number 5 to 12 (1): Mullanpur barrier junction towards Baddi-Kurali road, and turn from Omaxe Phase 1/Phase 2 junction

In the last match, the RR had an excellent chance to register their fifth win on the trot and consolidate their pole position. However, Rashid Khan’s last-ball boundary helped Gujarat Titans log a victory against the RR.

On other hand, despite the heroics of Shashank Singh (46* off 25 balls) and Ashutosh Sharma (33 off 15 balls), the PBKS suffered a two-run defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad at this new home ground.

The PBKS will now be eyeing a better performance from their top order batters, while the RR bowlers will carry a huge responsibility of stopping the PBKS middle-order to stop from scoring or chasing a big total. The Sanju Samson-led RR lost to the Titans due to the below-par effort by Kuldip Sen (19th over) and Avesh Khan (20th over) at a vital passage, when they conceded 35 runs off 12 balls.

Here, the Royals made a slight tactical error by not letting Trent Boult complete his quota in that match. The veteran left-arm pacer ended the match with no wicket. The side will be expecting to witness some magic from opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has contributed 63 from five matches — a near to no contribution considering his potential. Riyan Parag, who became only the second batter in the IPL-2024 to go past 250 runs (including three half-centuries) will be another batter to be watched at the new ground.

Meanwhile, the Shikhar Dhawan-captained side has blown hot and cold in the tournament so far, winning two and losing three matches. The top order including opener Jonny Bairstow (5 matches, 81 runs) and middle-order batter Jitesh Sharma (5 matches, 77 runs) are the most underwhelming of the lot. All-rounder Sam Curran has been performing above average with the ball, taking six wickets from five outings and putting up a 63-run show so far. The absence of injured Liam Livingstone from the middle-order too has reduced their firepower.

The bowling department led by Kagiso Rabada and Arshdeep Singh have allowed opponents to go beyond 180-mark in their last three matches. It will be interesting to see if the PBKS continued conceding runs against a strong batting-line up of the RR tomorrow.

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