The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader will see Punjab Kings (PBKS) lock horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Both teams will need a win to keep their truck moving for the IPL 2022 playoffs.
After climbing into the top four with a hat-trick of wins, RR hit a roadblock slipping to successive losses in their last two games. Jos Buttler and Yuzvendra Chahal carried the team on their shoulder and took them over the rope.
However, in the last three games, Buttler hasn’t hit the same straps as he did earlier in the season and Chahal hasn’t picked up as many wickets and the results are there for everyone to see. The Royals will hope to hit the winning strides and the tournament reaches its business end.
On the other hand, PBKS have struggled for consistency, failing to register back-to-back wins so far in IPL 2022. They have relied on Shikhar Dhawan, who has batted through the powerplay, despite a below-par strike rate. However, the addition of Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Rishi Dhawan seem to work in their favour. Punjab will hope to bank on the confidence after the win over Gujarat Titans, and humble Rajasthan to keep their hopes alive in the competition.
Match Details
Match 52: Punjab Kings (PBKS) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Date & Time: 7th May at 3:30 PM IST and Local Time
Predicted Playing XI
Punjab Kings (PBKS): Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma
Rajasthan Royals (RR): Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Karun Nair, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen
PBKS vs RR – Fantasy Team Prediction
Fantasy Team 1: Jos Buttler (c), Jonny Bairstow, Sanju Samson, Shikhar Dhawan (vc), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shimron Hetmyer, Liam Livingstone, Ravi Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen, Kagiso Rabada
Fantasy Team 2: Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shimron Hetmyer, Liam Livingstone (c), Ravi Ashwin, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
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