Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings, Indian Premier League 2021, Today Match Prediction 12 Apr 2021

rr vs pbks Match Prediction & Analysis

Rajasthan Royals and Punjab kings are the last two teams to play their season opener. Both teams failed to make it to the play-offs last season and will be eager to start their campaign with a win in this season. Punjab Kings has never won an IPL trophy so far while Rajasthan Royals have been trophy-less since their victory in the very first IPL. Both these teams have been a little underperformers in the IPL so far and will look to shed their tag in this season.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Rajasthan Royals Preview

Rajasthan Royals are all set to have a new skipper in form off young Sanju Samson in this season.  Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, David Miller, and Sanju Samson are expected to play a huge role in the batting department while young players Yashawi Jaiswal, Mahipal Lormor, and Riyan Parag will come in the middle order.

Chris Morris, Karthik Tyagi, and Jaydev Unadkat are expected to be their first choice pacers in the team. Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia will take care of the spin bowling department. They have Andrew Tye, Mustafizur Rahman, Mayank Markande, and KC Cariappa as the back-up options in the bowling department.

Top players to bet on:

Jos Buttler – Buttler is one of the top players in international circuit in white ball cricket and he will look to ace the Indian conditions to mark this season as his preparations for the T20I world Cup coming up later this year.   

Chris Morris – Morris was snapped up as the most expensive buy (16.25 crocres) in IPL`s history this year and he will have a huge role to play in the absence of Jofra Archer. He can be handy batsmen in the lower order too.

Rajasthan Royals Predicted Playing XI:

Sanju Samson (C & Wk), Jos Buttler, Yashawi Jaisawal, Ben Stokes, Mahipal Lormor, Riyan Parag, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Karthik Tyagi, Jaydev Unadkat, Shreyas Gopal

Rajasthan Royals Actual Playing XI:

Ben Stokes, Shivam Dube, Mustafizur Rahman, M Vohra, Chetan Sakariya, Sanju Samson, Chris Morris, Jos Buttler, R Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Riyan Parag

Punjab Kings Preview

Punjab Kings will hope the change of name will bring change of fortunes for their team. Skipper KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, and Nicholas Pooran are expected to form one of the strongest top-4 in this IPL. Deepak Hooda, Mandeep Singh, and Shahrukh khan will play in the lower middle order with the likes of Dawid Malan, Moises Henriques, and Fabian Allen in the squad as reserves.

Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson`s addition will strengthen their pace resources alongside Mohammed Shami and Chris Jordan. Ravi Bishnoi and Murugan Ashwin will be their lead spinners in the squad. Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel, and Harpret Brar will be the back-up pacers from the Indian circuit.

Top players to bet on:

KL Rahul – Rahul ended his poor form with a super ODI series against England recently and will look to translate the same in the IPL this season. We expect him play more aggressively at the top to score more runs this season.

Mohammed Shami – Shami has been out of action for nearly 3-4 months after an injury. He will look to showcase his bowling skills in this IPL to make his return to the national team.

Punjab Kings Predicted Playing XI:

KL Rahul (C & Wk), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Mandeep Singh, Riley Meredith, Jhye Richardson, Mohammed Shami, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin/Chris Jordan.

Punjab Kings Actual Playing XI:

Riley Meredith, Arshdeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Mohammed Shami, Shahrukh Khan, Lokesh Rahul, Jhye Richardson, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Murugan Ashwin, Mayank Agarwal

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Mumbai will have a hot and sunny climate and the dew will make its appearance in the later stages of the match. We expect no weather interruptions whatsoever ion this match.

Venue Details

Wankhede is one of pace friendly pitches in India and we can expect good bounce and carry on this wicket. The average scores at this venue will be between 160-170 runs. 

Toss: To Bowl

Chasing is a no-brainer in the T20s unless you expect the pitches to slow down considerably in the second innings. Chasing teams have an 80-20 success rate in the recent matches at all levels in T20s.