IPL5: Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab – Match Preview
The Rajasthan Royals will be playing against the Kings XI Punjab in the 4th fixture of the Indian Premier League, following the clash between http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Adam-Gilchrist-c918
is at the helm of the Punjab franchise, Rahul ‘the wall’ Dravid will be leading the Rajasthan contingent in the absence of the retired Shane Warne.
Both the sides are evenly matched, with a mix of experience and youth. The Royals boast players like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Punjab-c833
side has the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Azhar-Mahmood-c1116.
The Rajasthan contingent, led by Dravid, should consider itself fortunate to have the services of batting options like Rahane, Chandimal, Collingwood, Brad Hodge and Owais Shah, alongside Botha, who can single-handedly decide a match on his day. While http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326
and Chandimal are away on national duties, it will be up to Rahane, Hodge, Dravid and Owais Shah (if he is included) to support the side till the cavalry arrives.
Rahane, who joined the franchise last season, has played 10 matches scoring 120 runs off 98 balls, with a strike-rate of 122.44. He will be looking to do better this time around. His skipper, Dravid under http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shane-Keith-Warne-c89672, played a different game altogether,
scoring 343 runs in his 12 outings at a strike-rate of 109.23, contrary to what critics had expected from a defensive batsman like him. This time around, he has the chance to prove himself as a versatile cricketer once again, considering he is the captain
and has the freedom to make his own choices.
The South African T20 captain, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 franchise, and with his ability to curb the run-rate at crucial times and making runs when needed, makes him important. He joined the franchise in the 2nd
season, and the right-arm off-spinner has taken 10 wickets in 13 IPL matches, at an economy rate of 6.52, which is very impressive in the shortest format of the game. The prolific all-rounder scored 277 runs as well, at an excellent average of 39.57.
Shilpa Shetty’s Rajasthan Royals, who won the inaugural IPL edition in 2008, will be, for the first time, without the services of their stalwart Shane Warne. However, their attack still looks quite settled with Australian speedster Shaun Tait leading the
pace battery. Tait is likely to be supported by Indian pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/George-Bradley-Hogg-c59047 will be vying for the spinner’s spot.
Punjab’s batting looks pretty solid with Adam Gilchrist and explosive Paul Valthaty at the top. The duo will be followed by the likes of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Abhishek-Nayar-c902 and Sunny Singh in the lower order provides
the side the required depth in their batting.
The KXIP attack will be without spearhead pacer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 for a three-match Test series against the Caribbean side. In his absence, promising Indian medium pacer Praveen Kumar will be leading the relatively inexperienced
fast bowling department, which also includes http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Vikramjeet-Malik-c2760 and Nathan Rimmington. Their spin department will comprise of Piyush Chawla and Ramesh Powar.
A relatively more penetrative bowling attack and the home advantage makes http://www.senore.com/Cricket/R-Dravid-c2229’s Rajasthan Royals favourites for Friday’s match.
Probable XIs:
Rajasthan Royals: 1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Siddharth-Trivedi-c2526
Kings XI Punjab: 1 Adam Gilchrist (capt/wk), 2 Paul Valthaty, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 David Hussey, 5 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nathan-Rimmington-c2072, 11 Vikramjeet Malik
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