IPL 2021, RR vs PBKS: Rajasthan Royal (RR) skipper Sanju Samson has won the toss and elected to field first against KL Rahul’s Punjab Kings in the fourth match of the of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League 2021 being played at the famous Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
Upon winning the toss, Sanju Samson said "We are going to bowl first. We have challenges to face while picking the XI. Morris, Stokes, Buttler are out overseas players. Very excited about the role."
Meanwhile, PBKS skipper KL Rahul at the toss said, "We all know the history of Wankhede. Everyone wants to bowl first. But we would want to play good cricket. We can't really pinpoint anything particular. It is about the batting group helping the bowling group and vice versa."
Today's game is predicted to be an intense battle of big-hitters. While there is a new name for Punjab, there is a new full-time captain for Rajasthan Royals - Sanju Samson.
Rajasthan will be banking heavily on their swashbuckling all-rounder Ben Stokes, Englishman Jos Buttler and newly-appointed skipper Samson. Punjab on the other hand will enter the contest with a makeover.
For Rajasthan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler can start the innings. At the same time, captain Sanju Samson is set to play at number three. For Punjab, KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are set to open while Chris Gayle or David Malan can get a chance at number three.
Rajasthan has taken on Punjab 21 times in the IPL since 2008, holding a 12-9 win-loss advantage. RR wasn't part of the tournament in 2016 and 2017 due to a two-year betting ban.
It is yet to be seen if the captains manage to get the combinations right and secure first victory of the mega sporting tournament.
Punjab Kings playing XI: KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals playing XI: Jos Buttler(w), Manan Vohra, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson(c), Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman
Punjab Kings Full Squad: KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Prabhsimran Singh, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Hooda, Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Shami, Moises Henriques, Chris Jordan, Mandeep Singh, Dawid Malan, Jalaj Saxena, Murugan Ashwin, Sarfaraz Khan, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Ishan Porel, Utkarsh Singh, Darshan Nalkande, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar
Rajasthan Royals Full Squad: Jos Buttler(w), Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson(c), Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Liam Livingstone, Shreyas Gopal, Jaydev Unadkat, Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman, Andrew Tye, Jofra Archer, Mayank Markande, Anuj Rawat, Chetan Sakariya, Kuldip Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, David Miller, Manan Vohra, KC Cariappa, Mahipal Lomror, Akash Singh