Inaugural IPL champions, Rajasthan Royals will take on IPL underachievers, Punjab Kings in the fourth match of IPL 2021. RR added Chris Morris to their squad. Morris and Jofra Archer are their superstar allrounders. But unfortunately RR will be without Jofra Archer for the first 4 games. RR’s weak link remains their Indian fast bowling contingent.

KL Rahul led Punjab Kings fell short of a playoff berth in IPL 2020. They have wholesale changes to their squad by roping in Australian pace bowlers Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith. Despite these additions, Punjab Kings are dependent on Nicholas Pooran, KL Rahul, Chris Gayle and Mayank Agarwal.

RR vs PK: Recent form (10 matches)

RR have won 4 and lost 6 of their last 10 games.

Kings have won 5 and lost 5 out of their last 10 games.

Underdog players to watch out for:

Liam Livingstone (RR): A hard hitting batsmen cum part time leg-spinner. Can walk in as opener to partner Ben Stokes.

Chetan Sakariya (RR): India’s domestic star, Sakariya has come a long way. His left arm angle might trouble the right handed batsmen of Punjab Kings.

Moises Henriques (PK): Punjab Kings have to play Henriques at number 7 to achieve the ideal team balance. His experience will come in handy for them.

Murugan Ashwin (PK): He is probably the only Indian wrist spinner who bowls an effective google. He will be key weapon for Punjab Kings.

Match-winners in this game?

Sanju Samson is the newly appointed captain of RR. If Samson marries class with consistency, he will be an asset.

KL Rahul has been a consistent force for the Punjab Kings in the last 3 years. If Rahul plays aggressively PK will rest fine.

X-factor players:

Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler at the top of the order will be RR’s biggest X-factors. Their batting firepower is amazing.

Nicholas Pooran strikes at 165.4 and averages 32.6 in the IPL. He is easily Punjab’s biggest X-factor. 

Shahrukh Khan, the Tamil Nadu star allrounder will be key to Punjab’s finishing hopes.

What does stats say about RR vs PK?

RR and PK have played 21 IPL games against each other.

RR have won 12 matches. PK have won 9 games.

RR’s highest score against PK is 226. PK’s highest score against RR in 223.

RR’s lowest score against PK is 112. PK’s lowest score against RR in 124.

Probable playing XI:

RR:

Ben Stokes, Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (WK), Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Chetan Sakariya

PK:

KL Rahul (WK), Mayank Agarwal, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Moises Henriques, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammad Shami

Pitch:

Wankhede is a batting beauty. DC chased down a total of 189 easily against CSK in the 2nd game. The bounce will help the batsmen to play their shots. Their might be something in it for the pacers with the new ball.

Weather Report:

A high of 33 degrees and a low of 28 degrees is expected. There are no chances of rain. Dew might play a big factor and teams will prefer to chase under such weather conditions.

Ground stats:

175 is the average score at this venue.

Teams batting first have 52.7% games while teams chasing have won 47.3% in the last 10 years here.

StumpsandBails verdict:

It is an explosive battle between the batting lineups of both the sides. RR hold a slight advantage owing to the presence of allrounders in their side.