IPL 2019, KXIP vs RR: Inconsistent Punjab look to resurrect sea-saw campaign against resurgent Royals

This is the second encounter between these teams this season, with Punjab having won the first one by 14 runs – that match featured the infamous ‘Mankading’ incident with Ravichandran Ashwin and Jos Buttler.

Kings Eleven Punjab (KXIP) shall be locking horns against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, at Mohali in a thrilling clash of the ongoing Indian Premier League later on Tuesday evening. The match is scheduled to commence at 8 pm (IST). Punjab who are having a sea-saw campaign are placed fifth in the points table, with four wins and equal number of losses. On the other hand, Rajasthan are languishing at the bottom of the points table at the seventh position, having won only two matches and lost five. The two teams have squared off against each other in 18 clashes over the course of the IPL with Rajasthan having won 10 of those games and Punjab the remaining eight. Overall Rajasthan have won the title once, in the first season, while Punjab have never managed to win it even once. In the last season, both teams shared honours by wining one match each. This is the second encounter between these teams this season, with Punjab having won the first one by 14 runs – that match featured the infamous ‘Mankading’ incident with Ravichandran Ashwin and Jos Buttler. Hosts KXIP come into the game at the back of two successive losses would look to resurrect their campaign. The Punjab unit needs to keep its foot on the acceleration button once they have been provided with the opening salvo by Chris Gayle and KL Rahul. They slowed down a touch mid-innings in their matches against MI and RCB, and it hurt them. The Royals, on the other hand, come into the match after registering a much-needed win against the Mumbai Indians. On several occasions prior to that win, the Royals had unknowingly snatched defeat from their opponents. But having crossed the line now, they will want to do that regularly and make winning a habit. KXIP play three consecutive away matches after their encounter at Mohali, and they would be looking to end their home leg with a win. The Rajasthan Royals meanwhile would like to secure a win against their name before they head back to the ‘fortress’ at Jaipur for back-to-back matches. Previous Match XIs: Kings XI Punjab: KL Rahul, Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Sarfaraz Khan, Sam Curran, Mandeep Singh, Nicholas Pooran, R Ashwin, Andrew Tye, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami. Rajasthan Royals: Ajinkya Rahane, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson, Steve Smith, Rahul Tripathi, Liam Livingstone, Shreyas Gopal, K Gowtham, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat, Dhawal Kulkarni.