IPL 2019: Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab, Match Preview

Rajasthan Royals are set to host Kings XI Punjab at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium when the IPL caravan moves North after a grand start in Chennai. Both teams will be determined to start their respective campaigns on a winning note.

Rajasthan Royals have been the dark horses throughout IPL history, lifting their maiden IPL title in the inaugural season. Having won all five games against Punjab at this venue, the Royals will start as favorites in this contest.

The hosts will also be buoyed by the arrival of Steve Smith after a year-long ban. The Royals have a formidable squad in this edition, with the likes of Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Sanju Samson in their ranks.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab missed a trick or two in last year’s auction as they failed to fill the voids in their lineup. With Chris Gayle and KL Rahul back in form though, the visitors will rely on the opening pair to provide an explosive start.

Nicholas Pooran will give them much-needed stability in the middle order along with David Miller and Karun Nair. Varun Chakravarthy will be under the scanner after his big-money move, while Andrew Tye will lead the bowling attack for the Punjab franchise.

Kings XI Punjab would be hoping to register their first victory at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium and start their campaign on a positive note.

GAME DETAILS

Date: Monday, March 25, 2019

Time: 08:00 PM IST

Venue: Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur

League: Indian Premier League

Live Telecast: Star Network

Online Streaming: Hotstar

Head to head

Total – 17

RR- 10

KXIP – 07

Ground Stats IPL

Total Matches- 40

Matches won batting first- 14

Matches won bowling first- 26

Average 1st Inns scores- 156

Average 2nd Inns scores- 142

Highest total recorded- 197/1 (20 Ov) by RR vs RCB

Lowest total recorded- 92/10 (18.2 Ov) by MI vs RR

Highest score chased- 197/5 (19.4 Ov) by RR vs DCG

Lowest score defended- 151/7 (20 Ov) by SRH vs RR

TEAM NEWS

Rajasthan Royals

• Steve Smith is available for the hosts.
• Ashton Turner is unavailable for selection as he is playing for Australia in the UAE.
• Ajinkya Rahane and Jos Buttler will open the innings for the Royals.

Kings XI Punjab

• David Miller will not feature in this match as he is on National Duty.
• Gayle & KL Rahul will open the innings for the visitors.
• Andrew Tye will not be available for this match and Moises Henriques is likely to replace him in the starting lineup.

SQUADS

Rajasthan Royals

Ben Stokes, Steven Smith, Sanju Samson, Jofra Archer, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jos Butler, Ajinkya Rahane, Rahul Tripathy, Dhawal Kulkarni, Ish Sodhi, Stuart Binny, Aryaman Birla, Mahipal Lomror, Prashant Chopra, Shreyas Gopal, Sudhesan Midhun, Manan Vohra, Riyan Parag, Ashton Turner, S Ranjane, L Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Oshane Thomas, Varun Aaron, Jaydev Unadkat.

Kings XI Punjab

KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Karun Nair, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Ankit Rajpoot, David Miller, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Simran Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Harpreet Brar, Agnivesh Ayachi, D Nalanda, Sam Curran, V Chakaravarthy, Moises Henriques, M Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Hardus Viljoen, Mohammed Shami, Mandeep Singh.

KEY PLAYERS

Rajasthan Royals

• Jos Buttler
• Sanju Samson
• Ben Stokes

Kings XI Punjab

• Chris Gayle
• KL Rahul
• Nicholas Pooran

Probable Playing XI

Rajasthan Royals

Ajinkya Rahane, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tripathi, Krishnappa Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni

Kings XI Punjab

Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Moises Henriques, Nicholas Pooran, Sam Curran, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammad Shami, Ankit Rajpoot

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