This year, all of the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams that advanced to the playoffs last year have won. The Rajasthan Royals (RR), who have established themselves as one of the early favorites to advance to the knockout stages for the second consecutive year, could take this as a sign of things to come.
In their first game of IPL 2023, RR defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) 3-0, making them one of only two teams to win away from home thus far. When they play the Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Wednesday, April 5, they will move to a new stadium in Guwahati.
PBKS has also won their first game of the season, defeating the beaten Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in a rain-shortened match. In spite of the fact that they are supposed to keep on being without Liam Livingstone, who is yet to breeze through the expected wellness assessments, they will invite the arrival of pro speedstar Kagiso Rabada.
RR has won four of their last five matches against PBKS, giving them a head-to-head advantage. In recent years, the fixture has produced some exciting moments, such as the birth of finisher Rahul Tewatia and Sanju Samson’s stellar century that was in vain.
RR vs PBKS Match Prediction:
It seems impossible to stop the RR. The Royals may quickly take control of the game if Arshdeep Singh doesn’t produce another powerplay burst, and Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler appear to be in top form.
The position of Devdutt Padikkal in the middle order might be RR’s only obstacle going into their matchup with PBKS. At No. 1, the southpaw looks out to sea. 4, with obvious weaknesses against spin and pace.
The Rulers, then again, figured out how to come out all firearms blasting against KKR in their past game. Against Rajasthan, however, that may not be possible due to the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin choking teams in the middle overs and Trent Boult’s potent new-ball threat.
Even though PBKS performed well against KKR, their batting lineup still appears to be lacking in depth and experience, especially without Livingstone. Even if their own bowling attack holds up against Buttler and Co., it’s hard to imagine them scoring enough runs against a RR bowling lineup with a lot of penetration. On Wednesday, it should be possible for Samson’s team to win by two points.
Prediction: RR to win IPL 2023’s eighth match.
Probable Playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals (RR):
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- Jos Buttler
- Sanju Samson (wk/c)
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Shimron Hetmyer
- Riyan Parag
- Jason Holder
- Ravichandran Ashwin
- Trent Boult
- KM Asif
- Yuzvendra Chahal
Punjab Kings (PBKS):
- Shikhar Dhawan (c)
- Prabhsimran Singh
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa
- Jitesh Sharma (wk)
- Liam Livingstone
- Shahrukh Khan
- Sam Curran
- Harpreet Brar
- Rahul Chahar
- Kagiso Rabada
- Arshdeep Singh