Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals: Both teams look for a fresh start to revive playoff fortunes

The Pink brigade had a good start in the tournament and was emerging to be one of the favourites this season, but the previous few losses have put an obstacle to playoffs. They are placed in third place in the points table with 12 points and need to win two out of four games. While Jos Buttler and Sanju Samson anchor the top order, they struggle with the middle order. Rajasthan Royal's bowling unit is one of the best, without any doubt, but the batting order remains heavily dependent on Jos Buttler on top of Hetmyer in the end. 

On the other hand, Punjab Kings failed to be consistent and lacked confidence. Having won five of the ten matches, they are placed seventh in the points table. They need to win three out of the four games with a reasonable run rate to enhance their chances for playoffs. They, though, defeated one of the best teams of this season in the previous fixture but are yet to win two back to back matches. Shikhar Dhawan and Liam Livingstone were brilliant with the bat, whereas Kagiso Rabada led the bowling unit well. Arshdeep Singh and Sandeep Sharma, and Rishi Dhawan make their bowling squad strong. They will be aiming to continue their performance from the previous match and win this one.

Players to watch out for

Batters: Shikhar Dhawan and Shimron Hetmyer

Shikhar Dhawan has been in brilliant touch with the bat and scored 369 runs in10 matches with an average of 46. He has played a crucial knock in the previous game and will be an essential player today. Shimron Hetmyer has scored 260 runs in 10 matches despite getting to bat at the lower order. He has been one of the best strikers and power-hitter to expand the total. If promoted up, he can do well in this match as well.

Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal and Kagiso Rabada

Purple cap holder Yuzvendra Chahal has been clinical this season, scalping 19 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 15.32. He will play an essential role in restricting Punjab's power-hitters. Kagiso Rabada has picked 17 wickets in 9 games at an average of 16.00 and has been in good form from the previous few matches.

Stats to keep an eye on

• Sides batting first have won two of the last five games at the Wankhede.
• Jos Buttler, the orange cap holder, is 385 runs away from beating Virat Kohli's record-setting 973-run season in IPL 2016. He has also hit the most sixes (25) at the Wankhede since IPL 2019.

The teams have faced each other in 23 matches in IPL history; Rajasthan Royals enjoy the edge with 13 wins. Both the teams have certain loopholes to improve on, and it will be a thrilling contest in Mumbai's scorching heat at Wankhede.