Punjab Kings (PBKS) lock horns with Rajasthan Royals (RR) as Sanju Samson won the toss and elected to bowl first in their must-win IPL clash at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala on Friday (May 19).
Captains' comments
“We will bowl. Looking at the dimensions and looking as to what we require in the tournament, it is better to bowl. We need to win the game. Then see how the other games go. If you want to play good T20 cricket, you need to forget things. We have had four to five days off. One has to understand the conditions. We have couple of changes. Last minute changes. Ashwin misses out because of a back spasm,” RR skipper Samson said after winning the toss.
“Last match, dew wasn't much. First batting or second, it shouldn't change much. We will come and enjoy the game. Will try to give our best shot. We need to take more wickets in the first 6 overs. We can cash in more. We are playing the same team,” PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan said after the toss.
Follow the PBKS vs RR's live scores here
Head-to-Head
In head-to-head encounters in IPL, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings have played 25 games with each other. PBKS has won 11 matches while RR has won 14 games. In the last five games between both teams, PBKS won 2 matches while RR won 3 games.
Pitch Report
"It's the same surface which was used against DC. Talking about dimensions, it's equidistant on either side - 65 metres apiece, a hit straight downtown is 76 metres. Tonight it's a similar surface, although I do note one change is it there isn't so much of that green, that live grass into it. It's not going to have as much movement off the seam inside the powerplay. Don't think it's gonna help the spinners much either. Good batting track. I would bat first, the dew is not going to be a factor either. Bat first, know your total and get about defending it. That's key tonight," Murali Kartik and Matthew Hayden analysed the pitch.
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Adam Zampa, Trent Boult, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.
RR Impact Subs: Dhruv Jurel, Donovan Ferreira, Akash Vasisht, Kuldeep Sen, Murugan Ashwin.
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh.
PBKS Impact Subs: Nathan Ellis, Sikandar Raza, Rishi Dhawan, Mohit Rathee, Matthew Short.
