IPL 2025: Table Toppers PBKS Look To Maintain Dominance As They Host Samson-led RR

Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket: Table toppers Punjab Kings will be looking to maintain their winning momentum when they host struggling Rajasthan Royals in match 18 of the IPL 2025 on Saturday evening.

With two wins already under their belt, PBKS will be determined to add another victory to their tally to maintain their position on top, while RR, who have just one win in three games, will be aiming for a turnaround to their campaign.

PBKS are brimming with confidence after launching their campaign with two back-to-back wins under the leadership of Shreyas Iyer, who has smashed consecutive half-centuries to score 149 runs in two games at a strike rate of over 200. He smashed 13 sixes in the tournament so far, trailing Lucknow Super Giants's batter Nicholas Pooran (15) in the most sixes list.

Besides skipper Iyer, PBKS has more firepower in their batting unit in the form of Shashank Singh, Prabhsimran Singh and young Priyansh Arya, who further boost their batting lineup from top to bottom.

In their bowling unit, led by Aeshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak is one to watch out for in the game RaR, after the 28-year-old rookie made an instant impact in PBKS' season-opening win against Gujarat Titans, delivering game-changing performances coming in as an impact sub that caught everyone’s attention.

On the other hand, struggling RR will be boosted by the return of Sanju Samson as the skipper and full-time wicketkeeper after getting the clearance from NCA following a surgery on his right index finger after sustaining an injury during India’s T20I series against England in February.

Samson has so far played in the tournament as a sole batter, coming in as an impact substitute, with Riyan Parag leading the franchise. Parag's captaincy failed to make an impact despite a narrow six-win over Chennai Super Kings.

Despite being missing from his usual position behind the wickets as RR wicketkeeper and skipper, Samson still contributed to the team’s cause as an impact player and batted in all three matches. He scored a brilliant 66 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first game and returned with scores of 13 and 20 against Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings, respectively.

Samson and Dhruv Jurel will be key in putting up or chasing a big score, with Shimron Hetmyer expected to provide the finishing firepower. However, Yashasvi Jaiswal's form is the worrying factor for RR as the opener failed to make a mark for the franchise, registering the scores of 1, 29 and 4 in the first three games.

Rajasthan’s bowling attack has the likes of Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Tushar Deshpande, but they need to show their A game to restrict PBKS batters.

PBKS and RR have faced off 28 times in the IPL, with Rajasthan dominating the head-to-head matchup with 16 wins while Punjab have 12 wins to their name.

When will the PBKS vs RR match take place?

The match will take place on Saturday evening. The match will begin at 7:30 PM IST, with the toss scheduled for 7 PM IST.

Where will the PBKS vs RR match take place?

The match will be played at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur in Chandigarh.

Where will the live broadcast for PBKS vs RR match be available?

The match will be broadcast live on the Star Sports network.

Where will live streaming for PBKS vs RR match be available?

The match will be streamed live on the JioHotstar app.

Squads:

Punjab Kings: Nehal Wadhera, Harnoor Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Josh Inglis, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Praveen Dubey, Priyansh Arya, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Marco Jansen, Harpreet Brar, Suryansh Shedge, Shashank Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Kuldeep Sen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur

Squads:

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Article Source: IANS