Having tasted their first loss in IPL 2024, thanks to a last-over heist from Gujarat Titans’ Rashid Khan, Rajasthan Royals will look for a swift turnaround when they take on an inconsistent Punjab Kings at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur on Saturday.
The Royals squandered an excellent chance to register their fifth successive win and consolidate their pole position in the IPL points table, before Rashid’s blinder helped Titans snatch a last-ball thriller in Jaipur on Wednesday.
The Royals have managed to tick all boxes this season, and the minor blip against the Titans could serve as a timely reminder against complacency, and as such, Sanju Samson & Co would be looking at executing their plans perfectly against Punjab Kings.
In their post-match analysis, Samson and the team management must have discussed the slight tactical error, by not letting Trent Boult complete his quota in that match as the veteran left-arm pacer ended the match at 2-0-8-0.
In hindsight, Boult, with his wealth of T20 death bowling experience could have been a more potent option to prevent Rashid’s onslaught as Kuldip Sen and Avesh Khan conceded 35 runs in the last two overs, allowing the visitors to pull off a heist.
The Royals will thus be expected to work on those areas, and come prepared against the Kings, who have blown hot and cold so far in the tournament, winning two and losing three out of five matches.
The Shikhar Dhawan-captained side hasn’t been able to put up a collective effort from all departments so far in the tournament, and the patchy form of their star-studded top order has complicated things for the franchise. Instead of finishing, the Kings have largely banked on cameos by uncapped Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma to rebuild their innings after faulty starts.
While Dhawan has managed to get among the runs, his fellow opener Jonny Bairstow and middle-order batter Jitesh Sharma have failed to rise to the occasion. Prabhsimran Singh and Sam Curran have managed to get starts but need to convert those frequently. The absence of injured Liam Livingstone from the middle-order too has reduced their firepower, and Kings will hope to have the Englishman back in their ranks at the earliest.
On the bowling front, Punjab will need to restrict oppositions to achievable totals while bowling first. A group consisting of bowlers such as Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh and Harshal Patel has given away 199, 199 and 182 runs in their last three matches, and they will look to break the trend against the Royals.
The Royals boast of a strong batting unit that has been in ominous form, with skipper Samson leading the charge. Riyan Parag, fresh from a 48-ball 76 against GT, and Jos Buttler, with a century against RCB, are in red-hot form. In the middle order, Shimron Hetmyer has the raw power to add meat to their totals. The Royals, however, will have one minor concern, as their opener Yashasvi Jaiswal is yet to fire all cylinders at the top of the order.
Over the past few seasons of the IPL, the Royals have slipped midway in their campaign despite impressive starts, which is why they have managed to qualify for the play-offs only twice across the last six seasons. Sanju Samson & Co would desperately hope that the loss against GT wasn’t the start of a similar trend.