Royals aim to get back to winning ways vs PBKS

May 15, 2024 18:39

Riyan Parag

Welcome to the coverage of the IPL 2024 match between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Having already sealed their place in the play-offs, Rajasthan Royals will be aiming to finish in the top two when they play against an already eliminated Punjab Kings in the IPL 2024 match in Guwahati on Wednesday.

Royals have hit a roadblock, suffering defeats in their last three games.

Lucknow Super Giants' defeat at the hands of Delhi Capitals ensured Royals' passage to the play-offs.

However, they will be aiming to win their last two games and ensure a place in the top two of the standings to qualify for the Qualifier 1 match, which gives them two shots at making the IPL final.

Riyan Parag, the hottest cricketing property to emerge from India's north-east, is expected to get a grand welcome from his home fans in Guwahati.

Parag has been a standout player for Royals this season, hitting 483 runs at a strike-rate of 153.

The huge support for the 22-year-old will also help Sanju Samson and his men against Punjab Kings, which unearthed two T20 gems in Shashank Singh and Ashutosh Sharma but once again failed to fire as a team.

Skipper Shikhar Dhawan's absence due to injury for the better part of the season made matters worse as his stand-in Sam Curran didn't exactly look the part.

Samson, on the other hand, has grown in stature as a leader in what is expected to be his best season as a batter.

He already is his team's top-scorer with 486 runs. The dynamic opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal (344 runs) and Jos Buttler (359 runs) have had an average season by their standards but Parag and Samson have ensured that batting remained solid and consistent with he low-scoring game against CSK being an aberration.

Buttler's return to England to prepare for the T20 World Cup will be a big blow for RR in the business end of the IPL. Punjab had Liam Livingstone returning to England on Monday to undergo a knee recuperation ahead of the next month's T20 World Cup.

RR's strongest aspect is their bowling unit that has never been taken to the task as such during the whole season. Sandeep Sharma (Economy Rate 8.07) at the death and Trent Boult (ER 8.38) at the start have executed their plans to perfection.

Ravichandran Ashwin has only become sharper as the tournament has progressed and Yuzvendra Chahal can always produce that magic ball against the run of play.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

In Pictures - Sabalenka beats Pegula to win US Open women's crown

Images from the US Open women's singles final between Belarus's Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula of the United States, at Flushing Meadows, New York, on Saturday.

Nations League PIX: England, Germany impress

Images from Saturday's action in the Nations League group stage matches.

Paris Paralympics: How India fared on September 7, 2024

A summary of Indian athletes' showing at the Paralympics in Paris on Saturday.

Sinner ready to crash Fritz's American party

Jannik Sinner will hope to block out a rocking home crowd on Sunday when he faces Taylor Fritz in the US Open final at Flushing Meadows, where the 12th seed will be bidding to become the first American man in 21 years to win a Grand Slam...

Paris Paralympics: Navdeep wins historic GOLD; Simran bags bronze in 200m

India's Navdeep Singh claimed gold medal in a dramatic men's javelin throw F41 final while Simran won the bronze medal in the women's 200m T12 final at the Paralympic Games in Paris on Saturday.