1. Team News - Rajasthan Royals
To start with, they have a new captain in Sanju Samson and this will be a huge test for him. He is their main batsman and now needs to handle the pressures of captaincy as well. Sanju has led Kerala in domestic cricket but IPL is a different beast. The Royals will also miss England fast bowler Jofra Archer for a considerable period in the IPL 2021 because of an elbow surgery. The eyes will be on the outing of Chris Morris, who was bought for Rs 16.5 crore, the highest bid for any player in the IPL history. The RR Batting will be dependent on Sanju, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes.
2. Team News - Punjab Kings
Punjab under skipper KL Rahul will be a considerable force as they have the wherewithal to upset any team. They already have the likes of Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal etc and have added England's Dawid Malan, the world's No 1 T20I batsman. They have an exciting prospect in Australian fast bowler Riley Meredith. What they require is a cohesive and consistent effort to go the distance.
3. Playing 11
Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler (Wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (Captain), Manan Vohra, Ben Stokes, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Mayank Markande.
Punjab Kings: Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (Captain, Wk), Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Jalaj Saxena, Moises Henriques, Ishan Porel, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Jhye Richardson.
4. Dream 11 Prediction
Jos Buttler, Chris Gayle, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Kartik Tyagi.