3 things PBKS need to do right to defeat RR in IPL 2023

The buck stops here for both Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) as they lock horns in a virtual knockout IPL 2023 clash at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.

With the winner of this contest, which happens to be the last league fixture for both sides, set to reach 14 points, it would mean the end of the road for the team that ends up on the wrong side of the result.

While PBKS went down by 15 runs to Delhi Capitals (DC) at this very venue a couple of days ago, RR slumped to the third-lowest total in the history of the league, with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) rolling them over for a paltry 59.

Neither team can afford to put a foot wrong tonight as they seek to keep their slender hopes of making the playoffs alive before relying on other results to go their way.

On that note, we look at three things PBKS need to do right in order to beat RR in tonight's IPL 2023 clash:

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#1 Show conviction with their selection

While they haven't terribly erred on this front like times of yore, PBKS have messed up with their selection policy on a couple of occasions in IPL 2023. The latest one saw Sikandar Raza left out of the playing XI in their last game against DC while a fourth frontline seamer in Kagiso Rabada was included.

The South African peppered Prithvi Shaw with the short-pitched stuff but just didn't show enough control otherwise. With Raza's all-round skills and form an added upswing, the hosts might want to look at him once again ahead of their must-win clash against RR.

Whichever path they tread, they need to be sure of whom they pick for various phases of the contest. And once they pick the team, they need to back them for the roles handed out to them - a case in point being the lack of confidence shown in Arshdeep Singh in the last game and Harpreet Brar being thrown into the slog overs instead.

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#2 Stop Yashasvi Jaiswal early on

This is imperative for just about any team that comes up against RR, given the kind of form Yashasvi Jaiswal has shown in IPL 2023. He has comfortably been their best performer with the bat this season and nipping him early in the bud will transfer pressure onto Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson, who haven't really shown their best consistency so far.

PBKS will do well to learn from what RCB did last Sunday. Once Mohammed Siraj prized out Jaiswal for a duck, the rest fell like a pack of cards and succumbed to the pressure of the chase. Even the Gujarat Titans (GT) managed to restrict RR to 118 in Jaipur a couple of weeks ago, once Jaiswal was run out in the last over of the powerplay.

With the new ball expected to swing, PBKS will do well to deploy their left-arm seamers in Arshdeep and Sam Curran and use conditions to the fullest. Stop Jaiswal and that's an early upper hand on the contest. Allow him to get set, and it could be carnage in full swing!

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#3 Time Jitesh Sharma and Shahrukh Khan's entry point to perfection

Against DC, PBKS fell short of a massive target and a big reason behind that was a failure to maximize their resources. Atharva Taide retired out having failed to get a move on but by the time he did to allow Jitesh Sharma to walk out, they needed 86 off five overs.

Jitesh's seamless power-hitting against spin and pace ought to have him face as many deliveries as he possibly can post the 10-over mark and getting his entry point right will be pivotal, especially against an RR attack that has Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal to fall back on in the spin department.

There is one catch here though and that is RR's usage of Chahal in the death overs in the last few games. That could also put Shahrukh Khan's entry point under the scanner, given that he has been used purely as an end-overs pace-hitter in IPL 2023.

He isn't as free-flowing against spin and so it remains to be seen if the hosts have this at the back of their mind and recalibrate his entry point. It could also amount to throwing the cat among the pigeons if he is sent in earlier, but their judgment will have to be spot-on with the entry of both Jitesh and Shahrukh if they are to keep their IPL 2023 playoff hopes alive.

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Can PBKS bounce back and keep their IPL 2023 playoff hopes alive when they face RR? Have your say in the comments section below!

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