Find out team news, TV and streaming information, odds, weather forecasts and much, much more ahead of the next game of the 2021 Indian Premier League season
Punjab Kings meet Rajasthan Royals in the 2021 IPL.
The game is scheduled for 6pm UAE (3pm BST, 7.30pm IST) on Tuesday, September 21, 2021.
Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai will stage the match.
It’s been a mixed bag for both sides in the tournament so far. With six points apiece, Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings sit in 5th and 6th place respectively, the Royals pipping the Kings on account of their superior net run rate. Both teams have won only two of their last five fixtures, though the Royals do hold the advantage of a game in hand over the Kings.
Both sides still have an outside chance of qualifying for the knockout stage of the competition, but the Royals’ game in hand makes their route into the top four that bit less rocky than that of the Kings. A win for them would keep them well in the hunt: a loss for the Kings may well put them out of contention.
Dafabet can hardly separate these two sides, with Kings at 5/6 and Royals available at 19/20.
There is some daylight however in the six-hitting stakes, with the Kings line-up which is expected to include KL Rahul, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran 17/20 favourites to clear the rope the most number of times.
Royals, who Liam Livingstone and Glenn Phillips, can be backed at 13/10.
Punjab Kings will be relying on KL Rahul to anchor their innings. His 331 runs in the first half of the tournament mean he is the second most prolific scorer of the 2021 edition thus far. Rahul will be looking to bat through the innings, and take the game deep.
Australian seamer Nathan Ellis is set to make his IPL debut for the Kings, too, and his pace could be key for them. After taking a hat-trick on debut for Australia sealed a spot on the plane for the T20 World Cup as a travelling reserve, his confidence will be sky-high. Definitely a player to keep an eye on.
The Royals possess one of the stars of 2021 in the form of batter in Liam Livingstone. The Englishman has been in monstrous touch this summer, dominating the Hundred for Birmingham Phoenix and cementing his place in England’s side ahead of the T20 World Cup. He will have a big role to play for Rajasthan, where he will likely slot into the middle order.
Evin Lewis is not far behind Livingstone in the form table. He had a superb CPL campaign for champions St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, striking a staggering 38 maximums to end the tournament as leading six-hitter. If the overseas pair get going, they will be nightmares to bowl at.
For Punjab Kings, the overseas trio of Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith and Dawid Malan have dropped out, and have been replaced by Adil Rashid, Nathan Ellis and Aiden Markram. They will also be without Chris Jordan, who must undergo a quarantine period upon arriving in the UAE following his involvement with Sussex on Blast Finals Day.
Rajasthan Royals, meanwhile, lost the not insignificant names of Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer and Andrew Tye during the tournament’s hiatus. They have been replaced by Glenn Phillips, Tabraiz Shamsi, Oshane Thomas and Lewis.
The two teams have played each other 22 times.
Punjab Kings wins: 10
Rajasthan Royals wins: 12
Temperatures will once again be in the sweltering mid-30s though winds of 13mph may provide some respite for the players.
Follow the Met Office forecast here.
Yes, a limited number of fans are allowed to attend games during the IPL's UAE leg.
With each team possessing some almighty hitters, it will come down to whichever side holds their nerve and comes out of the blocks fastest on the day. On form, the Royals’ top order slightly edges it: the performances of Lewis, Livingstone and Samson will be key. Royals to win.
IPL TEAM GUIDES
Sky Sports have the rights in the United Kingdom.
You can aso stream the tournament using the Disney+ Hotstar digital platform, though the matches are only available for VIP or Premium subscribers.
Star Sports have the television rights in India.
Streaming service YuppTV have acquired digital streaming rights in a host of markets, including Australia, continental Europe, Malaysia, Southeast Asia with the exception of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Central Asia, and Central and South America.
In the USA, the games will be broadcast on Willow TV and the Willow TV website. Fox Sports have the broadcasting rights in Australia, while Supersport will televise the games in South Africa. In the Caribbean, Flow TV have the rights.
The following broadcasters owning the rights for their respective regions:
Bangladesh: Channel 9
Afghanistan: Lemar TV
Malaysia: Measat
MENA/UAE: BeIN Sport
Hong Kong: Now TV
Singapore: SingTel
New Zealand: Sky Sport
Papua New Guinea: EMTV
Punjab Kings squad: KL Rahul (c), Chris Gayle, Mayank Agarwal, Nicholas Pooran, Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Deepak Hooda, Prabhsimran Singh, Mohammed Shami, Chris Jordan, Darshan Nalkande, Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Ishan Porel, Dawid Malan, Jhye Richardson, Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith, Moises Henriques, Jalaj Saxena, Utkarsh Singh, Fabian Allen, Saurabh Kumar, Nathan Ellis
Rajasthan Royals squad: Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Rahul Tewatia, Mahipal Lomror, Kartik Tyagi, Jaydev Unadkat, Mayank Markande, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, David Miller, Manan Vohra, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahim, Chetan Sakariya, K.C. Cariappa, Liam Livingstone, Kuldip Yadav, Akash Singh, Glenn Phillips, Oshane Thomas, Tabraiz Shamsi
Punjab Kings: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Fabian Allen, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohammad Shami
Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Liam Livingstone, Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Chris Morris, Rahul Tewatia, Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman, Jaydev Unadkat
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