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Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals, two teams on 12 points, go head to head on Friday. A defeat for either team means they are eliminated although a win by no means guarantees safe-passage to the play-offs. Rajasthan Royals are narrow favourites and are 4/5 (1.80) to win. Punjab Kings are 1/1 (2.00) to get the victory.
These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.
- Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 66
- May 19, 2023 – 15:00 GMT
- Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala
Pitch Report and Weather Conditions
Contents
This is an excellent batting wicket and it would be no surprise if both teams manage to post scores of 200+ in this match. Bowlers will need to deceive the batters with pace-off deliveries.
Overcast conditions are forecast throughout this game with the temperature expected to drop from 21 degrees at the start to 18 degrees by the end of the fixture.
Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals – Match Predictions
Both teams had higher expectations for this season than coming into their final group stage game needing a win and other results to go in their favour. Neither side is in good form but we think that Rajasthan Royals have more match-winners and are backing them to come out on top.
Prediction 1
Punjab Kings to hit most sixes
8/11 (1.73)
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Prediction 2
Yuzvendra Chahal to be Rajasthan Royals' Top Bowler
5/2 (3.50)
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Odds from
Probable 6s
Punjab Kings lost their last game but still delivered 14 sixes in their ultimately unsuccessful chase of 214. Atharva Taide (2), Liam Livingstone (9), M Shahrukh Khan (1) and Sam Curran (1) all cleared the ropes and will be well accustomed to the pace of the wicket ahead of this match. If you add in the powerful openers, Prabhsimran Singh and Shikhar Dhawan, you can see why we expect Punjab Kings to hit the most sixes. Rajasthan Royals have arguably better batters but we anticipate that they will pick up the bulk of their runs through fours.
Our prediction: Punjab Kings to hit most sixes in the match at 8/11 (1.57).
Probable Wickets
After taking 4-25 and 4-29 in his previous two matches, it was a big shock to see Yuzvendra Chahal go wicketless in the heavy defeat in Jaipur against Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, class is permanent and we expect the spinner to enjoy taking the pace off and also to get plenty of turn from this surface in Dharamsala. He will look to tempt the likes of Livingstone and his team-mates to take on overly aggressive shots and we are backing him to pick up the most wickets for his side.
Our prediction: Yuzvendra Chahal to be Rajasthan Royals’ highest wicket-taker at 5/2 (3.50).
Man of the Match
With four ducks from his last nine innings in the tournament, some eyebrows will be raised at the suggestion of Jos Buttler to take the Player of the Match Award. However, he hit 95 only two matches ago and is one of the best T20 batters in the world. Cometh the hour, we expect Buttler to find his form and propel Rajasthan Royals into a position where they may well just make it into the play-offs.
Our prediction: Jos Buttler to be the Man of the Match at 7/1 (8.00).
Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals
Nathan Ellis took 4-30 when these sides met earlier in the campaign as Punjab Kings ran out winners by five runs.
Punjab Kings
Although he had an excellent first two-thirds of the group stage, Arshdeep Singh has gone wicketless in the last three games and we expect him to lose his place in the Punjab Kings XI ahead of this match.
Predicted XI: Prabhsimran Singh, Shikhar Dhawan (c), Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma, M Shahrukh Khan, Sam Curran, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Nathan Ellis
Rajasthan Royals
Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong for Rajasthan Royals against Royal Challengers Bangalore. There will be calls for wholesale changes but the team selected in the last match is likely to be the same seen in this clash.
Predicted XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (wk) (c), Joe Root, Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Adam Zampa, Yuzvendra Chahal, KM Asif
How to Watch IPL 2023 in the UK: Live Streaming & Channel List
With both teams needing to win this game to keep themselves in the tournament, this should be a tension filled clash in Dharamsala. You can enjoy all the action on Sky Sports Cricket or via the Sky Go App if you are on the move.
- Sky Sports Cricket (TV)
- Sky Go (Streaming)
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