In Match 27 of IPL 2024, Punjab Kings will lock horns with Rajasthan Royals at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, Chandigarh on Saturday (April 13).

The Kings and The Royals have faced each other 26 times in the past and here Rajasthan has got the edge by winning 15 of them. In their last battle, PBKS were victorious by defeating RR by just 5 runs.

So far in this season, Punjab’s journey is not going smoothly, they lost three of the five matches they have played and beat DC and GT on the way. On the other hand, the Royals are sitting at the top of the table with 8 points in five matches, as their 4-match-winning streak came to a sudden halt as they failed to defend themselves against GT in their last match.

IPL 2024 PBKS vs RR: Bowling Squad Comparison

PBKS's bowling side is quite pace-heavy and lacks experienced spinners. Arshdeep Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Sam Curran, and Harshal Patel will be their main options in the pace-attack. For spin, they will depend on Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar and Liam Livingstone.

On the other hand, Rajasthan has one of the most balanced bowling squads in this season. They have pacers like Trent Boult, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma and Avesh Khan. While in the spinner unit, they have seasoned players like Ravichandran Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Keshav Maharaj. RR also have some bowling talents with great potential from the domestic leagues like Kuldeep Sen and Navdeep Saini.

IPL 2024 PBKS vs RR: Who will be the highest wicket-takers?

Arshdeep Singh: The 25-year-old Indian fast bowler remains a crucial part of the Punjab bowling unit across the seasons and also leads the wicket-tally among the PBKS bowlers with 8 wickets in 5 matches. His ability to bowl in the death overs, mainly in limited-over cricket made him the go-to bowler for PBKS in the slog overs.

Kagiso Rabada: With 6 wickets in 4 matches, the South African right-arm fast bowler is the Punjab side's second-highest wicket-taker. Rabada also has 113 IPL wickets in just 74 appearances and won the Purple Cap with DC in 2020, taking 30 wickets along the way. He will be of great assistance against the Royals in the powerplay and death overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal: The Indian leg-spinner was the highest wicket-taker for the Royals in the last IPL with 21 wickets in 14 matches and also the highest wicket-taker ever in IPL history. The 34-year-old veteran wrist spinner is also leading the race for the Purple cap jointly with Jasprit Bumrah this season, with 10 wickets in 5 matches. Chahal is a match-winner on his day, and RR will expect him to continue the magic for the upcoming matches of the season also.

Nandre Burger: The South African left-arm fast bowler has not had much exposure to IPL or international cricket. After some promising performances in domestic leagues in South Africa, the 28-year-old was bought by RR in 2023 at the base price. In this IPL, he bagged six wickets in four matches. On this pacer-friendly pitch for tomorrow's fixture, he is expected to perform well.

Punjab Kings’ performance remains inconsistent and unpredictable so far whereas RR has shown great potential to reach the playoffs with ease. As both of them lost their respective last matches, they will fight hard to be back in the winning fold.