IPL 2023: 3 Key Match-Ups to Watch-Out in RR VS PBKS Match No.8

IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals (RR) will host Punjab Kings (PBKS) in match no. 8 of the ongoing- Indian Premier League 2023 (IPL 2023) at their second home ground- Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati on Wednesday, April 4. RR and PBKS have previously clashed on a total of 24 occasions. In the head-to-head records between the Rajasthan-based team and the Punjab-based team, the inaugural champions lead with 14 wins, while the 2014 runners-up have won a total of 10 times. The last time when these two teams played during IPL 2022, RR picked up a 6-wicket win over PBKS.

Sanju Samson-led RR is coming into this game after picking up a massive 72-run victory against Sunrisers Hyderabad in their opening game of the 2023 season. Arguably, RR looks like the most balanced team in the ongoing season. They have all the bases covered and should have enough with the bat and ball to get another win in this game. It was a powerful display from the Royals in their opening-game victory over SRH. All three top-order batters got important runs while the bowlers were clinical as always to hand the Orange Army a defeat in their home ground. No injuries have been reported by the team management. So we are not expecting any changes in this team.

Punjab Kings, on the other hand, head into the match after beating Kolkata by seven runs (DLS) method in their IPL 2023 campaign opener. have a good variety in their bowling attack but are up against a very good batting line-up. We expect them to be competitive but may struggle to beat the Royals. After opening their IPL 2023 campaign with a victory for the third successive season, PBKS will want to keep their changes to a minimum ahead of this match. Kagiso Rabada, who arrived in India on Monday, will come straight into the playing XI with an excellent IPL record. This could be the only change heading into the RR VS PBKS match.

IPL 2023: Top Player Battles to Keep an Eye On in RR VS PBKS Game

3) Jitesh Sharma vs Yuzvendra Chahal

The wicket-keeper batter from Vidarbha has been very impressive right from his first game in the Indian Premier League. In his 12 appearances for PBKS, the hard-hitting batter has accumulated 234 runs from 10 innings, with a 34-ball 44 against Delhi Capitals being his highest score. With a big role to play this season, Jitesh showed that he was ready for the challenges by playing a whirlwind inning of 21 off 11 balls. Being the middle-over aggressor, Jitesh will have a huge task in hand when he will face the spin wizard- Yuzvendra Chahal. Against SRH, the leg spinner bagged four wickets-Mayank Agarwal, Harry Brook, Adil Rashid, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Jitesh attacked KKR spinners, but facing Chahal will be a tougher task for the young batter.

IPL 2023: 2) Trent Boult vs Prabhsimran Singh

The Rajasthan Royals left-arm pacer produced a brilliant opening over against the Orange Army. He produced a double-wicket maiden after dismissing Abhishek Sharma and Rahul Tripathi. Boult eventually ended with match figures of 2/21 in his four overs, including one maiden over. No bowler has taken more power play wickets in the cash-rich league than the Kiwi paceman. He likes to strike early and he will be looking to do the same against the young opening batter of PBKS- Prabhsimran Singh, who had a brilliant outing in the first game. Opening the batting, the right-handed batter played a breezy knock of 23(12). Boult is a big threat to any right-handed batter and certainly to a rookie batter like Prabhsimran. 

1) Jos Buttler vs Arshdeep Singh

The Orange Cap winner of the 2022 season- Jos Buttler started from where he left off in the last season. Buttler blasted a 22-ball 54 to help his team put up a mammoth total on the board. His brilliant innings were cut short by the left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi. Being a right-handed batter, and left-arm pacer with the new ball is always going to be a challenge and that’s where Punjab Kings’ spearhead Arshdeep Singh will have a big role to play with the new ball. Arshdeep once again impressed everyone in the first game of the season in Mohali by picking 3 wickets.

Notably, all three wickets came with the short ball.  With the new ball, he is known to swing the ball at the start and bowl yorkers at the death. Against Arshdeep, Buttler has only scored 15 runs off 13 balls. He has been dismissed once by the tall lanky seamer. This record suggests that Arshdeep has an upper hand over Buttler. This will be the most crucial battle in the game.