IPL 2018, KXIP vs RR: Rajasthan Royals (RR) probable playing 11 against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)

Rajasthan Royals are in quite a pickle now as they are currently placed at the bottom of the table with three wins and 5 defeats. Tonight, they will be up against Kings XI Punjab who are enduring a two-match losing streak.

RR will need to win the game if they are to keep their playoff hopes alive. A win for Rajasthan Royals will move them up three places to 5th position but a defeat will put them in all but out of contention.

The Royals put up a good show in their previous match against Delhi Daredevils with the bat and will be hoping to produce a strong performance today.

Let's take a look at Rajasthan Royals' predicted XI for tonight's match.

Ajinkya Rahane is currently RR's second highest run-scorer and has played some fine knocks for his side. Last match, he took one for the team by sending all the hitters up the order. Tonight, Rahane will be hoping to produce a fine performance both as a batsman and captain. Of course, his footwork has made him adept in all formats and we have already seen him play aggressively during the powerplay overs on a few occasions. So, it won't be a surprise if he goes all out from the beginning tonight.

D'Arcy Short scored a quickfire 44 from 25 deliveries in RR's previous match against Delhi Daredevils. That shows that the Australian can fire when the going gets tough. Short will be hoping to fire on all cylinders to give the inaugural IPL champions a strong start.

Sanju Samson has been Rajasthan Royals' talisman with the bat so far. However, he was poor against Delhi, scoring just 3. Nevertheless, RR will be hoping that the youngster delivers for them tonight.

Rahul Tripathi is generally an opener but due to the quality of players RR have, it is highly unlikely that he will open. Nevertheless, he has the ability to go big and RR will be hoping that Tripathi plays well during the middle overs.

Ben Stokes has been far from impressive this season but a player with his all-round abilities can never be underestimated and Punjab will certainly be wary of him tonight.

Jos Buttler was simply phenomenal against RR a couple of days back, smashing 67 from 26 deliveries. In fact, his dismissal was the turning point of the match. Buttler will be hoping to produce another sensational performance tonight with the bat as well as with the gloves.

K Gowtham has proved to be a useful player with both bat and ball. RR will be hoping to make the most of his pinch-hitting abilities during the death overs and will be expecting him to get a few wickets with the ball as well.

Jofra Archer has been RR's best bowler so far, picking up 7 wickets from just three matches. He will be hoping to give RR some early breakthroughs during the powerplay overs.

Shreyas Gopal has also produced a couple of fine performances for Rajasthan Royals so far. Rajasthan will be hoping that he does well today as well.

Dhawal Kulkarni was expected to spearhead the Rajasthan Royals attack but that hasn't happened so far. Even though he hasn't been very consistent with the ball, Kulkarni cannot be written off.

Jaydev Unadkat was expensive against Delhi Daredevils but he also took three wickets. The big-money buy hasn't been very convincing so far but looking at his wicket-taking prowess in the previous game, he would be somebody Rajasthan will be counting on.

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