The Cricketer takes a look at the next fixture in the 2022 Indian Premier League season
Punjab Kings take on Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League.
The match will be played on Saturday, May 7 with the first ball being bowled at 3.30pm local time (11am BST).
The teams will face off at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Two sides who are beginning to forget the art of winning face off in a fixture that has big implications. Three losses in their last five games have left Punjab Kings playing catch up in the race for qualification. Rajasthan Royals, too, seem to be slipping just as the teams below them are making late charges – they have lost their last two.
Captain Mayank Agarwal is due for a big score, but he pushed himself down the order in their last game allowing Jonny Bairstow to open alongside Shikhar Dhawan. With overseas batters Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Liam Livingstone in good touch, what Punjab need is for their lower-middle order, that might now include Agarwal, to come good.
If they hold up their end of the bargain, there's enough skill between Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh and others to realistically trouble Royals through the 20 overs.
As for Royals, their inability to go past 160 in their losses against Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders will be concerning. So too is Yuzvendra Chahal's recent lack of wickets: IPL 2022's purple-cap holder has struck just twice in four games. What they need to overcome the Kings challenge is wickets in the powerplay from Trent Boult and Prasidh Krishna.
Liam Livingstone is a potent weapon for Punjab Kings [screengrab/BCCI]
Buttler is a glue of Rajasthan's batting line-up, and while he may still break Virat Kohli's record-setting 973-run season in IPL 2016, the rest of his team need to help him if they are to qualify. Samson and Hetmyer are the keys here, and will be coming up against an out-of-form Rahul Chahar.
Elsewhere, the battle between hard-hitting Livingstone and Rajaspaksa and Rajastan's spin twins – Chahal and Ashwin – will be the most watchable encounter of the afternoon. Expect fireworks and skilful bowling aplenty!
Matches played: 23
Punjab Kings wins: 10
Rajasthan Royals wins: 13
A warm day is expected in Mumbai, with highs of 33 degrees Celsius, falling to 31 degrees by first ball of the match.
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal, Arshdeep Singh, Shikhar Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Jonny Bairstow, Rahul Chahar, Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, Jitesh Sharma, Ishan Porel, Liam Livingstone, Odean Smith, Sandeep Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Prerak Mankad, Vaibhav Arora, Writtick Chatterjee, Baltej Dhanda, Ansh Patel, Nathan Ellis, Atharva Taide, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Benny Howell
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Riyan Parag, KC Cariappa, Navdeep Saini, Obed McCoy, Anunay Singh, Kuldeep Sen, Karun Nair, Dhruv Jurel, Tejas Baroka, Kuldip Yadav, Shubham Garhwal, Jimmy Neesham, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Rassie van der Dussen, Daryl Mitchell
Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Mayank Agarwal (c), Jitesh Sharma, Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Kuldeep Sen, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal
Shimron Hetymer of Rajasthan Royals [screengrab/BCCI]
The bookies make Rajasthan Royals favourites for this match with 7/8 odds. PBKS are evens.
The Royals have had a better IPL season overall, but Punjab Kings have the form. In the battle between England's three most destructive white-ball batters, Punjab may have the edge, with their bowling attack in better form. Dismiss the enduring quality of Boult, Ashwin, and Chahal at your peril, however. They will be keen to remind everyone just how good they are and this match is the perfect situation to do so.
In the UK, Sky Sports have exclusive rights to this year's tournament, with matches available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket.
Fans in India can watch all of the action on Star Sports.
Elsewhere in the world, viewers in Australia can watch the IPL on Fox Sports while in New Zealand, Sky Sport will provide coverage.
Willow TV and Flow Sports will broadcast the tournament in the United States and the Caribbean, respectively.
Fans in MENA can catch the action on beIN Sports while in South Africa, SuperSport have the rights.
The IPL can also be streamed on Disney+ and Hotstar in certain areas.
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