Jaipur, May 17 (IANS) Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings (PBKS) will be looking to solidify their playoffs chances when they take on an already eliminated Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2025 clash at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

In the head to head record, RR hold a narrow 17-12 edge over PBKS, including one game ending in a tie. In their last meeting in this season, RR won by 50 runs at Mullanpur, which was also PBKS’ first defeat of the season.

But sitting on third place in the points table with 15 points from 11 matches, PBKS will be aiming to restart the momentum which has made them contenders for a possible top two finish. Prabhsimran Singh, PBKS’ current top run-scorer, has struck four consecutive half-centuries, while Priyansh Arya has been his perfect opening partner via his aggressive stroke play.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer has been astute in leadership, and sparkling with the bat, while left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh has been a standout performer yet again by picking 16 wickets, making him the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the competition. Though Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis are unavailable for this game, PBKS still have enough arsenal in them to cover up for their absence.

On the other hand, Sunday’s game also marks RR’s final home match in what has been a thoroughly forgettable season for them. They will be hoping to end their home run on a positive note despite missing Jofra Archer, while status of skipper Sanju Samson taking the field on Sunday is yet to be known.

While 14-year-old young batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi showed his brilliance with a breath-taking 35-ball century in Jaipur, RR has struggled for batting consistency big time and will need strong performances from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag to ensure they can bow out on a high.

When: Sunday, May 18 at 3:30 PM IST

Where: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Where to watch: Star Sports Network (TV) and JioHotstar (live streaming)

Squads

Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shashank Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harpreet Brar, Marco Jansen, Harnoor Singh, Pyla Avinash, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Owen, Musheer Khan, Suryansh Shedge, Josh Inglis (wk), Vishnu Vinod (wk), Kuldeep Sen, Praveen Dubey, Kyle Jamieson, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Xavier Bartlett, and Yash Thakur

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Wanindu Hasaranga, Yudhvir Singh, Kunal Singh Rathore (wk), Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), Akash Madhwal, Ashok Sharma, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kumar Kartikeya, Kwena Maphaka, Maheesh Theekshana, and Tushar Deshpande.

–IANS

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