Rajasthan, Punjab aim to finish on a high

Rajasthan would like to blame themselves for spoiling their flow with unnecessary chopping and changing, which resulted in them losing their momentum, just when it looked as if they would easily cruise through to the play-offs. Punjab have also played some mediocre cricket this season. Their batting has been outstanding throughout, but their bowling has let them down consistently. With this being both their last games of the season (if they don’t qualify), both these teams would want to finish on a high for their fans and in the process if they can qualify, it would be great.

PBKS VS RR AT DHARAMSHALA

· TEAM INFO – Both these super aggressive and attacking teams will clash in a ground which supports high scoring games. The last match between DC and PBKS, resulted in 400+ runs. Both the teams don’t have things in their hand for qualification, hence both the teams would like to have a big win under their belt and then hope for the best, with the other results going in their favour. NRR is expected to play a big role and hence it is extremely important for them to win with a massive margin.

· QUALIFICATION CRITERIA – Both these teams are on 12 points and if they win this one, they can get to 14 points at the maximum and they will be hopeful of MI losing their last match against SRH and staying on 14 points. GT, CSK and LSG are on 15 points or above and hence only the fourth slot is their contention. RCB are their other contender and they would need to lose one of their games, so that they can finish on 14 points as well. KKR could also make it to 14 points. So, if the fourth position qualification stays at 14 points, then NRR will come into play and for the same reason they would want to have the maximum possible NRR to have the best chance of qualification.

· PREVIOUS ENCOUNTER – Both these teams clashed in a thrilling contest at Guwahati in this year’s IPL. Batting first, Punjab got off to a flier with Shikar Dhawan and Prabhsimran Singh putting 90 runs together in 9 overs. With a strong base, Punjab were looking for something in excess of 220, but they could only manage 197/4. Chasing 197/4 to win, RR shocked the fans by opening with Ashwin and Jaiswal. The bigger concern was batting Padikkal in the middle order, who just couldn’t get going. The middle and lower middle order did come to party, but it was way too late by then. It was Sam Curran who bowled the final over and allowed Punjab to defend 15 runs. Punjab Kings won this encounter by 5 runs, as Rajasthan Royals finished at 192/7.

· Head-to-Head - Played - 25; Won by PBKS – 11; Won by RR – 14

· PBKS possible 12 – S Dhawan, A Taide, L Livingstone, J Sharma, S Curran, S Khan, H Brar, R Chahar, K Rabada, N Ellis, A Singh, P Singh

· RR possible 12 – Y Jaiswal, J Buttler, S Samson, J Root, D Jurel, S Hetmyer, R Ashwin, J Holder, S Sharma, KM Asif, Y Chahal, R Parag

· Pitch & Weather Report – The wicket in the scenic Dharamshala has aided the batting side mostly. The previous encounter accumulated 400+ runs and it was a total batting paradise. The bowling side is expected to get their game plan right or else they would get punished. Change of pace and variation have been the key. There was rain yesterday and that wouldn’t have allowed the ground staff to do a lot of work on the wicket. With temperatures between 17 and 27 degrees Celsius and very little chance of rain, expect a mouth-watering contest.

· Match Prediction – This is going to be a thriller of a game and both teams would use as many destructive players as possible. If the 275 runs mark is breached in this match, don’t be too shocked. Although, both teams would want to chase and achieve the target as soon as possible. I feel that Rajasthan Royals have a better chance in this game, as their top order is filled with free-flowing stroke makers. If Buttler, Jaiswal or Samson could play through the innings then it could be lethal. So, it’s going to be Rajasthani ‘Besan Ke Ladoo’ in Himachal Pradesh.

FAN COMMENTS

· “Being a Rajasthani, I have been very disappointed with the Rajasthan Royals. They were surely the team of the tournament, but by promoting Ravichandra Ashwin consistently in the batting order, they have put the entire team in trouble. Wonder how Ashwin can bat above Jason Holder, who is a world class striker. If somehow now they can regroup and get things right, there is still a small ray of hope.” – Idris Khokar, 35, Businessman, Indian.

· “I am a big fan of Shikar Dhawan and I am very hopeful that he will somehow make it to the Indian team for the 50 overs World Cup. I feel that experience is the key in an ICC event and this is something that the management needs to work on. Dhawan has the talent of scoring runs by taking minimum risks, which increases consistency.” – Vikramjeet Singh Bhalla, 44, Factory Manager, Indian.

· “Prior to a month, I never expected that my house would have the subscription of an Indian network, especially because barely anyone in my entire family speaks Urdu or any other Indian language. These days my husband and all my kids watch cricket in the evening and through the day its cricket match analysis on Youtube. Over time, I have even started to understand a little bit of it. Hoping for some good quality cricket academies to open for my children.” – Rahila al Shaqsi, Branch Manager, Omani.

· “This year’s IPL has been fantastic. All teams are equally well balanced, which brings it down to the day. Whichever team plays well on the day and is able to execute their strategies is the one which stands out. I feel that this year’s IPL will change the formation of the Indian cricket team and it will be the end of the road for a lot of senior cricketers and a lot of younger ones will come in. Few senior cricketers will come back into contention with their consistent brilliant performances.” – Dr Bhavin Sanghvi, 29, Otolaryngologist, Indian.