🏏IPL 2023: Match 66 - PBKS vs RR on 19/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

🏏IPL 2023: Match 66 - PBKS vs RR at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala  on 19/05/2023 at 7:30 PM IST 🏏

Tag & Logo Credit: Sevenstreaks

Kings, Royals need to get tactics right in bid to stay alive

Both teams, even with a win here, will need a number of other results to go their way if they're to somehow reach the playoffs

Both Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals are in the same boat. Both teams are in the bottom half of the standings, with 12 points from 13 matches, and are desperately hoping not to capsize. Even if they win their final league fixture, they will need a number of other results to go their way if they're to somehow reach the playoffs.

Both sides have employed some debatable tactics this season. For instance, Kings' left-arm fingerspinner Harpreet Brar went from not bowling a single ball in spin-friendly Chennai to bowling the 16th, 18th and 20 overs against a well-set left-hander in Rilee Rossouw in Dharamsala on Wednesday. Brar leaked 39 off those three overs and Arshdeep Singh bowled just two overs in conditions that seemed to offer some help to the seamers. With Jitesh Sharma, Sam Curran and M Shahrukh Khan waiting in the wings, Kings perhaps waited too long to retire out Atharva Taide, who struggled to hit high gear in a 200-plus chase.

As for Royals, they hardly used Jason Holder's batting skills in the first half of the season before he was benched. Similarly, they were reluctant to use a fit-again Obed McCoy against Sunrisers Hyderabad, getting just one over out of their Impact Player. Then, everything went wrong for them in their 112-run drubbing at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore in Jaipur.

Dharamshala weather forecast on Friday, May 19 

Mostly clear turning into a partly cloudy day with a maximum temperature of 27o C reducing to 21o C during the playing hours. There is no prediction of rain throughout the day. So, weather is unlikely to play spoilsport in match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

HPCA Stadium Pitch Report

The pitches at the venue have aided the quick bowlers, but has seen a few high-scoring first innings totals in the limited overs formats with the chasing team often finding it tough to chase down the target. However, the recent two T20Is have shown the teams chasing have won the match.

The average score batting first over the years in IPL at this venue is 180 and when batting second, the average score is 146. Team batting first has won 5 and team chasing has won 4 in 9 IPL matches at this venue. In 10 T20Is, average score batting first is 152 and batting second is 135.

Pitch and conditions

Considering the small boundaries and the dew factor later in the evening, teams often tend to chase in Dharamsala. The weather is likely to be clear for the duration of the match.

Team news

Both teams have no known fitness issues yet. Trent Boult could return to the Royals side in place of legspinner Adam Zampa in conditions that could aid swing, especially in the early exchanges.

Form guide - (last five matches, most recent first)

Punjab Kings: LWLLW 

Rajasthan Royals: LWLLL

BATTERS TO WATCH(recent stats)

Prabhsimran Singh,  PBKS

10 M • 273 Runs • 27.30 Avg • 144.44 SR

Liam Livingstone,  PBKS

8 M • 270 Runs • 38.57 Avg • 170.88 SR

Yashasvi Jaiswal,  RR

10 M • 450 Runs • 50 Avg • 166.66 SR

Sanju Samson,  RR

10 M • 263 Runs • 32.87 Avg • 152.90 SR

BOWLERS TO WATCH(recent stats)

Arshdeep Singh,  PBKS

10 M • 10 Wkts • 9.96 Econ • 22.10 SR

Harpreet Brar,  PBKS

9 M • 9 Wkts • 8.09 Econ • 14 SR

Yuzvendra Chahal,  RR

10 M • 13 Wkts • 8.09 Econ • 17 SR

Ravichandran Ashwin,  RR

10 M • 10 Wkts • 7.86 Econ • 22.20 SR

Impact Player strategy

Kings could once again bring in Prabhsimran Singh as their Impact Player in place of one of the seamers, if they chase. Likewise, they could start with Prabhsimran if they bat first and then introduce a bowler for their defence.

Punjab Kings probable XII: 1 Shikhar Dhawan (capt), 2 Prabhsimran Singh, 3 Atharva Taide, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 M Shahrukh Khan, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Kagiso Rabada/Sikandar Raza, 11 Nathan Ellis, 12 Arshdeep Singh

As far as the Impact Player rule is concerned, Royals have not followed a consistent pattern. It's quite hard to predict their Impact Player.

Rajasthan Royals probable XII: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Jos Buttler, 3 Sanju Samson (capt, wk), 4 Devdutt Padikkal, 5 Joe Root, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Dhruv Jurel, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Adam Zampa/Trent Boult, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Sandeep Sharma, 12 KM Asif

Stats and Trivia

• R Ashwin has a favourable match-up against Shikhar Dhawan in T20 cricket. The spinner has kept the left-hander to just 92 off 109 balls at a strike rate of less than 85 while dismissing him four times.
• Though the sample size is small, Nathan Ellis has the wood on Jos Buttler, taking him out twice in eight balls while giving up just eight runs in T20 cricket.
• Livingstone has had a strike rate of 217 against pace this IPL, but that plummets to 98 against spin.
• Kings have won just one of their six home games so far in IPL 2023.

There is a possibility of four teams finishing the league stage of IPL 2023 with 14 points with the one with a superior run-rate getting through to the next round. For that scenario to unfold, Royal Challengers Bangalore will have to lose one of their two remaining games, Mumbai Indians lose their final match and Kolkata Knight Riders to win their last encounter. But only one among Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals can be part of this possible finish as the two teams get set to battle it out in Dharamsala to keep their slim hopes of qualification alive.

Although the Royals suffered a drubbing against Royal Challengers, their NRR is still in the positive and a decent victory against the Kings could give them a real chance should the 14-point scenario pan out. Meanwhile, the Kings have a rather tough chance with their NRR dropping to -0.308 after their loss to Delhi Capitals and they need a really big win, and some big losses for the aforementioned teams, in order to stay afloat.

The Kings, let down by the pace department and some tactical errors, ended up conceding 213 against the Capitals - with the bowling in the powerplay and the death not up to the mark. They need to pull up the socks and figure out a method quickly against a Rajasthan side that boasts of some really good hitters, who had a good hit out during the nets as they cleared the fence with ease regularly.

They also need to put up a collective effort with the bat and not depend on individual brilliance. While Prabhsimran's ton in Delhi did turn out in a winning cause, a stunning 48-ball 94 from Liam Livingstone in their previous game went in vain. Dhawan's lack of contributions in the last two matches has also been a cause for concern and the skipper will be hoping to make amends and lead from the front.

The Royals, who were at the top of the table at one point in the competition, are now staring at an early exit after managing just two victories in their last eight matches. A high-scoring game, which they lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad, was sandwiched between two disappointing batting performances as they were skittled out for 118 against Gujarat Titans while they folded for 59 against RCB, registering the third lowest total in the IPL. RR, who will be eager to put up a solid batting performance, have the ideal venue to do so.

PBKS v RR Head-to-Head Records

They played 25 matches

PBKS has won 11

RR has won 14

This will be their first game at Dharmsala

In the last 5 matches

PBKS has won 2 matches and RR has won 3

In this season they already faced each other once before and PBKS has taken the much needed 2 points from that game

Successful Head-to-Head Records in 1st Batting vs 2nd Batting

First Batting - PBKS has won 8 and RR has won 7

Second Batting - PBKS has won 3 and RR has won 7

What to expect: As many as 24 maximums were struck in the game between PBKS and DC, with the short boundaries and a track with bounce and pace making it ideal for the batters. But there was some swing on offer early on in both innings and the bowlers will need to capitalise on that as they might end up suffering later. Another high-scoring game is on the cards.

Teams watch:

Punjab Kings

The Kings, having played the match a day before, didn't turn up for practice on Friday. They might, meanwhile, contemplate a couple of changes for the game. Atharva Taide, who struggled despite getting a half-century and was eventually retired out as a tactical move, along with Rabada, could make way for an overseas batting option along with an Indian pacer. Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Rishi Dhawan might be well-suited to fill those roles.

Tactics & match-ups: Arshdeep Singh has dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal twice in 10 deliveries and has conceded only 10 runs, making him a good fit with the new ball, especially if swing is on offer. PBKS could also look at giving Nathan Ellis an over or two early on, with the pacer having picked up the wicket of Jos Buttler two times in eight deliveries in T20 cricket. Curran will be a good option against Sanju Samson, with the England left-armer having dismissed the RR captain twice in 15 deliveries.

Probable XII: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Nathan Ellis, Rishi Dhawan, Arshdeep Singh.

Rajasthan Royals

Trent Boult, who was replaced by Adam Zampa in the last game, should be back in the side and might enjoy the early swing in Dharamsala. Both Devdutt Padkkal and Riyan Parag have been ineffective in this IPL, barring a fifty for the former against RCB, and it remains to be seen who among the two gets the nod for this game.

Tactics & match-ups: R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal have dismissed Shikhar Dhawan three times apiece while Sandeep has dismissed the PBKS skipper twice. But both Chahal and Sandeep have been slightly expensive against the Punjab opener, making for an interesting contest.

Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(c & wk), Joe Root, Devdutt Padikkal/Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal.