Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson elects to field
Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals will clash in Match 66 of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL). While the winner will keep their outside chances of a playoff qualification alive, the loser will officially get knocked out. The two sides will also look to boost their net run rate significantly. RR skipper Sanju Samson has won the toss and elected to field.
Pitch report, timing, and streaming details
Dharamshala's Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium will host this duel on May 19. 8.97 is the average run rate batting first in IPL at this venue. Only one game has been played here this season so far which saw Delhi Capitals claiming a 15-run win after posting 213. Star Sports will telecast the match, while fans can live-stream it on JioCinema (7:30pm IST).
A look at the H2H record
RR and PBKS have played each other a total of 25 times in the IPL. The Royals have a superior record with 14 wins in comparison to PBKS's 11 victories (including Super-Over wins). PBKS claimed a narrow five-run win when these two sides met earlier in the season. Shikhar Dhawan (86*) and Nathan Ellis (4/30) starred for the Kings in that contest.
Ashwin misses out for RR
Samson confirmed at the toss that senior spinner R Ashwin will miss out because of a back spasm. Meanwhile, PBKS have opted for the same side which played the previous game.
Playing XIs of PBKS and RR
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (wk/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Adam Zampa, Trent Boult, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal. Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan (c), Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh.
