The Match 52 of the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR). This is the afternoon game of Saturday's double-header, and will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
After maintaining a steady position at the top four with a consistent show right from the start of IPL 2022, Rajasthan faced a roadblock in the last two matches with successive defeats against Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders. They are stuck at 12 points, and to achieve a top-two finish, Sanju Samson's team needs to move on at this business end of the the league stages.
They are up against the Punjab, who have been marred by inconsistency. In fact, they are yet to win consecutive matches yet this season. However, their last eight-wicket win against table-toppers Gujarat Titans had given them hopes of making it to the Playoffs. Against Rajasthan, Punjab will be eyeing their sixth win in the competition this year.
Primarily, this match will be a battle between Punjab's power-hitting vs the Rajasthan's spinners. It will be an interesting match-up to follow.
Likely XIs
Punjab Kings: Mayank Agarwal (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Jonny Bairstow, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Karun Nair, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, R Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen
Fantasy tips
- In this afternoon fixture back the spinners from both teams – Ashwin, Chahal, Chahar – to get some help out of the surface.
- Someone like Livingstone with his all-round skills can be a trump card in this game.
- Back Buttler to get going in this game.
Where to watch
Live streaming of Match 52 of IPL 2022 between Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) will start at 3.30 PM IST on May 7. You can watch the match on the Star Sports Network and Hotstar.