Bengaluru, Oct. 30: Rajasthan Royals opted to bowl first against the Kings XI Punjab in match number 50 of the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Friday.
After winning the toss, Royals skipper Steve Smith chose to bowl because he wasn’t too sure of the dew factor and wouldn’t want to take risks. Punjab skipper KL Rahul said he would have opted to bowl as well had he won the toss.
Rajasthan skipper Steve Smith named one change in their playing XI. Varun Aaron, who had apparently not been fit, is ready to play now. Aaron will replace Ankit Rajpoot in the Royals’ line-up against the KXIP.
Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab have retained the winning playing XI. No changes in the Punjab line-up means still no Mayank Agarwal.
While the Royals must win the match to stay alive in the tournament, a win for Rahul’s side will inch them closer to a playoff berth.
Playing XI:
Kings XI Punjab:
KL Rahul (wk & capt), Mandeep Singh, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Glenn Maxwell, Deepak Hooda, Chris Jordan, Murugan Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals:
Robin Uthappa, Ben Stokes, Steve Smith (capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Jos Buttler, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Shreyas Gopal, Kartik Tyagi, Varun Aaron