Jaipur, May 18 (IANS) Punjab Kings have won the toss and opted to bat first against Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2025 clash at Sawai Mansingh Stadium here on Sunday.

Depleted Rajasthan got a boost with captain Sanju Samson returning to the side other than Kwena Maphaka, who replaced Jofra Archer in the playing 11 for today’s match.

On the other hand, Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer confirmed the inclusion of new signee Mitchell Owen, who replaced injured all-rounder Glenn Maxwell.

“We are going to bat first. The wicket looks fantastic, know how it plays here. The powerhouse has been our batting, so got to make the best use of it. Everyone is in high spirits. The mindset has been strong. Trying to make the best use of the sources. Kudos to the Army forces. Mitch Owen, Jansen, Omarzai are playing,” Iyer said at the toss.

Samson confirmed that teenage opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi will continue to open for the franchise.

“Wanted to bowl first after how the pitch behaved in the last game against RCB. Let’s see how it plays out today. I am okay, hundred per cent fit. I would love to respect where he (Suryavanshi) is batting. He has played well for us. I will bat down the order, I come in for Nitish Rana. Maphaka comes in for Jofra Archer,” the RR skipper said.

Playing XIs-

Rajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Impact Substitues: Kumar Kartikeya, Shubham Dubey, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Singh Rathore, Yudhvir Singh Charak.

Punjab Kings: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Impact Substitues: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan.

Punjab Kings are placed in third spot with 15 points in 11 games and are poised to finish in top two spots if they win their three matches, including this match against already eliminated Rajasthan Royals.

–IANS

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