As the race to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 playoffs intensifies, Rajasthan Royals, smarting from three successive defeats, find themselves in an unfamiliar tricky situation

to stay in the top-two positions as they prepare to take on an unpredictable Punjab Kings in their second ‘home’ at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday.

In the first nine games of the season, Rajasthan Royals underwent an almost blemish-free run and looked set to top the points table with 16 points before fumbling at the business end of the tournament, which saw them losing three on the trot. The Royals are currently at the second spot, but need to win at least one of their final two matches to retain their position.

In their endeavour, the Royals will expect their local hero Riyan Parag to continue his glorious run in this edition. After a few underwhelming seasons, Parag, elevated to the No.4 spot in this edition, has responded to the faith of the team management, amassing 483 runs at a strike rate of 153. While the support for the youngster in this part of the country would be organic, the 22-year-old’s experience of playing at the Barsapara Stadium, will be the key to the Royals’ prospects as they also need to figure out a new opening combination after Englishman Jos Buttler’s exit.

Buttler, who had a subdued season by his standards, scoring 359 runs in 11 matches, returned home on Monday due to his international commitments. The right-hander will be leading England in the series against Pakistan and the T20 World Cup. As a result, Yashasvi Jaiswal could partner with the destructive Tom Kohler-Cadmore at the top of the order.

Among others, a lot will also depend on skipper Sanju Samson, who has been the team’s highest scorer so far with 486 runs, along with the likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel and Shubham Dubey.

On the bowling front, Rajasthan will hope of the likes of Trent Boult, Avesh Khan and Sandeep Sharma to continue their magic and keep the Punjab batters on their toes, with the experienced spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, more than capable of turning on the heat in the middle overs.

On the other hand, Punjab Kings will be hoping to end yet another forgettable season on a high. The lack of a consistent show from the top order has resulted in their downfall this season, and with Englishman Liam Livingstone back home, it will open the doors for a new player to make his presence felt. The only positives for the Punjab outfit have been Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma, and the duo will be expected to lift the side’s spirits again on Wednesday.

The absence of regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan due to injury has been a massive blow to their overall combination, and his replacement Sam Curran, didn’t exactly look the part. The left-arm all-rounder has had mixed outings with both the bat and ball, while the failures of India keeper Jitesh Sharma, have also dented their prospects.

Punjab’s bowling has also blown hot and cold throughout the season, with leg-spinner Rahul Chahar and left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar, exhibiting decent performances while left-arm Arshdeep Singh will be hoping to fine-tune his skills before joining the Indian team for the T20 World Cup, starting June 1.