Big picture: PBKS put the chaos behind
A year ago, Punjab Kings (PBKS) had hit a few lows with confusion around the real Shashank Singh, Shikhar Dhawan's dismal form, and them finishing ninth with just five wins to miss out on a playoffs spot for the 10th year in a row.
There's a sense of calm around the group now. Led by Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer, they have started IPL 2025 with two away wins and hope to set right their home record.
PBKS won just one out of their five games in Mullanpur in IPL 2024. But this is a different team, with the kind of depth that makes them everyone's envy. Only their top order is doing so well that it has made that depth almost decorative. Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis and Marco Jansen are all very useful with the bat but they have hardly been needed.
Rajasthan Royals (RR), though, are grappling with several issues, starting from Yashasvi Jaiswal's underwhelming start to concerns about their batting depth. They have tried to circumvent this issue by being flexible with their line-up, which is why their win over CSK, courtesy a Nitish Rana special last week to round off the Guwahati leg, would have come as a soothing balm.
Both sides have had the propensity to produce thrillers while playing each other. Can they produce another?
Form guide
Punjab Kings: WWL (Last three matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals: WLL
New Loyalties
Yuzvendra Chahal is up against his former franchise, with whom he achieved considerable success. He took 27 wickets for RR in IPL 2022 and earned the purple cap and a place in the final for his team. RR let him go and PBKS snapped him up for INR 18 crore, making him the most expensive spinner in the tournament's history.
Team news and likely XII
Sanju Samson is set to take over the RR captaincy from Riyan Parag after being cleared by the Centre of Excellence to keep wicket following a finger injury. Samson had played the first three matches as an Impact Player.
Rajasthan Royals (probable): 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Sanju Samson (capt & wk), 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Riyan Parag, 5 Dhruv Jurel, 6 Wanindu Hasaranga, 7 Shimron Hetmyer, 8 Jofra Archer, 9 Maheesh Theekshana, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Sandeep Sharma, 12 Shubham Dubey
PBKS have used two different impact subs in the two games so far. How they juggle with their options is anybody's guess.
Punjab Kings (probable): 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Priyansh Arya, 3 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Suryansh Shedge, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal, 12 Vijaykumar Vyshak/Nehal Wadhera
Big Question
Should Shimron Hetmyer be batting as low as he has been in the first two matches? Against KKR, Hetmyer came in at No. 8, even below their impact sub, Shubham Dubey. Against CSK, Hetmyer came in at No. 7, behind Wanindu Hasaranga. RR are seemingly focused on his entry point as against his batting number, but the question remains. Are they maximising his potential?
In the spotlight
Prabhsimran Singh has been playing IPL since 2019. He has got through two mega auction cycles with the same franchise. But for all that time, he only has five half-centuries, including the his 34-ball 69 from earlier this week. This is Prabhsimran's opportunity to show he can add consistency to his potential.
Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn't been anywhere near his best in the 32 deliveries he has faced so far in IPL 2025. Between his previous game and now, his switching from Mumbai to Goa in domestic cricket has been dissected threadbare. If he can find form, Jaiswal will help deflect attention away from the off-field rumblings.
Sanjay Bangar says the opener might do well to play normal cricketing shots for the first 10 balls at the crease
Pitch and conditions
PBKS were left confused about what home advantage really means, having to navigate through slow surfaces in Mullanpur in IPL 2024. The bigger boundary dimensions at the ground usually bring spinners into play and explain why in five games last year, 180 was breached just twice while batting first.
Key Stats
Samson is one win away from being the most successful RR captain outright. He is currently tied on 31 with Shane Warne.
Sandeep Sharma has a favourable match-up against Shreyas Iyer, whom he has dismissed three times in nine T20 innings while conceding 47 runs at a strike rate of just 84.
Samson has been out five times in 11 T20 innings to Chahal. Will that force PBKS to go out of the box and throw him the ball during the powerplay?
Teams scoring 170 or more while batting first have defended their score successfully eight times out of nine in all T20s in Mullanpur
Quotes
"Rolls-Royce just stayed in third gear for most of the day. Didn't have to go any harder than that. Just steers the ship home."
PBKS coach Ricky Ponting on Shreyas Iyer's 52* off 30 after their second win against LSG
"It was just two games, but it felt very long. Happy."
Riyan Parag after securing his first win as RR's stand-in captain
