Sanju Samson has won the toss and elected to bowl first against the Punjab Kings. “The pitch looks good for the bowling, and the pacers will get help. We have played well in the IPL and look forward to continuing. We are not thinking about the result; we focus on the process. We made some small mistakes in the last game against Gujarat. We have worked on them. R Ashwin and Jos Buttler are injured and are out of the match,” Sanju Samson said.
Sam Curran, who is leading Punjab Kings, would have also bowled first. “We would have bowled as well, and the pitch offers help to the fast bowlers. We have recognized our best-playing XI. However, some matches have been close, with results not being in our favour. That’s the challenge IPL offers. Shikhar Dhawan has picked up a niggle and has been ruled out of the contest,” Sam Curran said.
Punjab Kings XI: Atharva Taide, Jonny Bairstow, Prabhsimran Singh, Sam Curran (c), Liam Livingstone, Shashank Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Harpreet Brar, Harshal Patel, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
PBKS bench: Rahul Chahar, Ashutosh Sharma, Vidwath Kaverappa, Harpreet Bhatia Ellis
Rajasthan Royals XI: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Riyan Parag, Rovman Powell, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Tanush Kotian, Trent Boult, Keshav Maharaj, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Sen, Yuzvendra Chahal
RR bench: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Shubham Dubey, Navdeep Saini, Abid Mushtaq