IPL 2023: Match 66, Rajasthan Royals (RR) Predicted Playing XI vs Punjab Kings

Rajasthan Royals' IPL 2023 campaign is hanging by a thread after they were completely outplayed by Royal Challengers Bangalore in their last outing. Sanju Samson's batters just did not show up on the day, registering their second-lowest total in IPL history.

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Last year's finalists are on the verge of getting knocked out of the competition, despite being one of the favourites to lift the trophy this year. Their campaign has gone into a tailspin after a strong start as they have lost four of their last five matches.

They will take on a sluggish Punjab Kings in their last fixture, with a victory against Shikhar Dhawan's side keeping them alive in the tournament, barely, as they need a few favours from other teams in the competition as well. 

Here's Rajasthan Royals’ predicted XI against Punjab Kings:

Openers: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler

Rajasthan Royals' young dashing opener Yashasvi Jaiswal endured a rare failure with the bat against Royal Challengers Bangalore after he departed without scoring even a solitary run in the very first over of the chase. However, he shouldn't be blamed for his failure as he has been Rajasthan's best player this season.

Influential English opener Jos Buttler has not been able to replicate the form he displayed in last year's tournament. England's white-ball skipper also departed without a run to his name, after playing a lazy shot against a wide delivery from Wayne Parnell. Buttler will be hoping to make a statement in Rajasthan's last league fixture against Punjab Kings.

Middle Order: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Joe Root, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel

Indian middle order bulwark and Royals skipper Sanju Samson followed Jos Buttler back to the dressing room in the very same over after another failure with the bat. Samson, who had silenced his critics with a series of impressive batting performances last year, seems to have fallen prey to his old habits of throwing his wickets away cheaply this season.

Former England skipper Joe Root finally got a chance to bat for the first time in IPL during his side's clash against RCB. He made his way to the crease after the home side were in a spot of bother in the powerplay. Root showed a bit of fight and even played a delightful scoop shot during his stay, but failed to rescue his side as he was trapped in front by Parnell.

Shimron Hetmyer was the only Rajasthan batter who managed to provide some sort of resistance against the menacing RCB bowlers. The explosive southpaw took on the opposition bowlers, launching a scathing assault to revive the hopes of the home side. However, he did not receive much support from the others and was eventually dismissed after playing a blistering cameo of 35 runs off just 19 deliveries.

Young Indian dasher Dhruv Jurel was another RR batter who failed to make an impact in the game. He was dismissed for just a solitary run to his name as the Rajasthan top-order surrendered meekly against the RCB bowlers. The 22-year-old power-hitter has failed to live up to his reputation after the promise he showed in the initial stages of the competition.

Bowlers- Ravichandran Ashwin, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal

Veteran Indian offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin failed to lay a glove on the RCB batters, conceding 33 runs in his four overs without dismissing a single RCB batter. This is the first time this season that Ashwin failed to pick a wicket in two consecutive matches. Ashwin has been a key member of this side and will be hoping to dish out a much-improved performance in the upcoming match.

Sanju Samson's ploy to include Aussie legspinner Adam Zampa into the playing eleven proved to be a masterstroke as the canny spinner dismissed two RCB batters in the latter stages to wrestle back the momentum for the home side. He conceded just 25 runs in his four-over spell and was Rajasthan's only shining light in a rather demoralizing outing.

Diminutive Indian pacer Sandeep Sharma was another Rajasthan bowler who had a decent outing against RCB's star-studded batting line-up. While the veteran pacer did leak a few runs in the latter part of the first innings, he returned with the all-important wicket of Glenn Maxwell, who was looking in ominous touch in Jaipur.

KM Asif scalped the prized wicket of Virat Kohli after completely deceiving the former Indian skipper with a slower delivery after the powerplay. He added another feather to his cap after dismissing the well-set RCB skipper Faf du Plessis to restrict the flow of runs in the middle overs. However, the Indian pacer was taken to the cleaners by Anuj Rawat in the final over of the first innings, spoiling the pacer's bowling figures.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) Probable Playing XI:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Joe Root, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Adam Zampa, Sandeep Sharma, KM Asif, Yuzvendra Chahal

Rajasthan Royals (RR) Probable Impact Players

Jason Holder, M Ashwin, Riyan Parag, Kuldip Yadav, Obed McCoy