Bengaluru, Sept. 21: With both teams placed in the bottom half of the table, the Punjab Kings face the Rajasthan Royals in an important IPL clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday (Sept. 21).
In their first match of the second phase of IPL 2021 in Dubai, Punjab Kings' skipper KL Rahul won the toss against Rajasthan Royals and elected to bowl first.
Evin Lewis was handed the cap and will make his debut for the Royals. Meanwhile in the opponent's huddle, Ishan Porel, Aiden Markram and Adil Rashid got their Punjab Kings' cap.
In a surprising call, birthday boy Chris Gayle was dropped for Punjab's game against the Royals.
Both Punjab and Rajasthan have six points each, but the KL Rahul-led franchise has played one more game than the Royals. Currently Punjab is placed seventh on the points table with three wins from eight matches and the Sanju Samson-led Royals are a rung above them sixth place with three wins from seven matches.
In their first match this season, back on April 12, Punjab Kings won by four runs. In their last five encounters Kings have a slight edge, having won on three out of five matches.
Both sides will be eager to turn their fortunes around in the UAE leg of the IPL, as they look to start of with a win.
Playing XIs:
Punjab Kings:
KL Rahul (cap/wk), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Adil Rashid, Ishan Porel, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals:
Sanju Samson (capt/wk), Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi
Captain's Speak:
KL Rahul (PBKS):
No brainer (electing to field), fresh wicket, bit of grass - don't know how it will play. I personally prefer chasing. It's good to be back in Dubai. We've had a lot of learnings from playing here last time. Lot of guys were playing international cricket, but we are all professionals and have done our best to prepare. Pooran, Markram, Adil Rashid, Fabian Allen. Unfortunately Chris Gayle misses out.
Sanju Samson (RR):
We are good setting or chasing as a team. We have great talent, and great characters. Positive atmosphere. Sangakkara wanted us to relax, and remind us that it's just a game that you have to enjoy. The overseas players are Lewis, Livingstone, Morris, Mustafizur.