In the 66th game of the Indian Premier League 2024, Punjab Kings would be facing the high-flying Rajasthan Royals at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati. This is the first match being played at this stadium in this edition of the tournament and the hosts would be hoping to win the game and make it a memorable game for their fans.
Rajasthan Royals have already qualified for the playoffs and are on the verge of sealing their place in the top two of this edition's Indian Premier League. Punjab Kings' season has also come to a pre-mature end as they have already been eliminated having picked only four wins from their twelve games so far.
Let's take a look at how the Punjab Kings would be lining up:
Openers: Jonny Bairstow (WK), Prabhsimran Singh
Jonny Bairstow has had a mixed-bag kind of season but if he gets going after a start, he will make sure to seal the game with his batting. This might be his final game this season for the Punjab Kings as he will be leaving for the UK to be part of the England squad for their upcoming series.
There was a lot of anticipation on how Prabhsimran Singh would perform before this season's Indian Premier League. However, this has been a rather quiet campaign for the batter as he has struggled on most occasions and has been able to show glimpses of his actual performances.
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Middle Order: Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ashutosh Sharma
Rilee Rossouw had his best performance with the bat this season against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru as he was able to bat with a strike rate of more than 200 in that game. He would be looking for another knock of a similar class against the Rajasthan Royals tomorrow as he looks to seal his spot in the team.
One of the upcoming stars of this edition of the Indian Premier League has been Shashank Singh and his rise throughout the season has been remarkable to watch. The batter would be looking for more displays in the season's remaining two games.
Prior to the start of the season, all eyes were on Jitesh Sharma as he looked to seal a spot in the Indian team for the T20 World Cup 2024. However, this has been a poor campaign with the bat and that has seen him lose out on a spot in the national team. Despite all this, the side has backed him and the wicketkeeper-batter would be looking to repay the faith of the management with some good displays in the final couple of games.
Along with Shashank Singh, another player who has risen in the ranks at the Punjab Kings has been Ashutosh Sharma. His exemplary displays with the bat have seen him cement a place in the starting XI. The batter would be hoping to continue his stellar form with the bat in the remaining few games of the season.
All-rounders: Sam Curran (C), Chris Woakes
The skipper of the Punjab Kings, Sam Curran has been having a great redemption season after a poor display last year. He has been contributing well with the ball but some of his performances with the bat have been quite underrated. The all-rounder has stayed back for the final couple of games of the season and would be looking to contribute more for the side in those games.
With Liam Livingstone leaving the squad due to commitments to national duty, this might be time to unleash Chris Woakes for the franchise. This might be the first game for the English all-rounder this season and will be looking to leave a mark for the team in the game against Rajasthan Royals.
Bowlers: Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh
A lot of questions were there when Punjab Kings paid a hefty amount for Harshal Patel during the IPL 2024 Auctions. But the bowler has repaid the faith of the franchise by scalping wickets regularly and is currently leading the race to win the purple cap.
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The biggest test of Rahul Chahar would be in the upcoming game against Rajasthan Royals. It might be a surface that will assist spinners more and that means Chahar will be the go-to bowler for the franchise to scalp wickets during the middle overs. He would be hopeful of a great spell in Guwahati which can lead his side to victory.
It has been a decent campaign so far for the leading bowler for the Punjab Kings, Arshdeep Singh. He has been great from time to time but his economy can be an issue that needs to be addressed at times for the team. He would be looking to end the campaign with some great performances leading up to the T20 World Cup 2024.
PBKS Predicted XI:
Jonny Bairstow (WK), Prabhsimran Singh, Rilee Rossouw, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Sam Curran (C), Ashutosh Sharma, Chris Woakes, Harshal Patel, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh.
Impact Sub: Vidhwath Kaverappa
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