On April 5th at 7:30 PM IST, the eighteenth match of IPL 2025 will feature Punjab Kings (PBKS) facing off against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur. In the 18th match of IPL 2025, Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals will engage in a battle on April 5th at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur.
With two wins in as many matches, the Punjab Kings are at the top of the points table, while the already relegated Rajasthan Royals are placed ninth with a win out of their three matches. The most recent match of the Punjab Kings, which they played against the Lucknow Super Giants, and won by 8 wickets. Arshdeep Singh took 3 wickets, and Prabhsimran Singh scored 69 runs in his contribution.
In the previous game, the Rajasthan Royals got a slender victory of 6 runs by defeating the Chennai Super Kings, as Nitish Rana scored 86 runs off his innings and Wanindu Hasaranga took four wickets.
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While the two teams have met 28 times in their head-to-head, the Punjab Kings have had 12 wins and the Rajasthan Royals have 16. This is a chance for the Punjab Kings to stay on top of their unbeaten run or the Rajasthan Royals to try and improve their record.
Punjab Kings (PBKS)
PBKS might look to deploy Yuzvendra Chahal early in the innings, considering his strong track record against key Punjab Kings batters. Chahal has dismissed Nitish Rana six times in 13 innings and has also gotten the better of Sanju Samson five times in ten meetings — making him a tactical weapon up front. Similarly, Marcus Stoinis could be handy with the ball, especially against Yashasvi Jaiswal, whom he has removed three times in just four innings.
Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Nehal Wadhera/Harpreet Brar
Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Sanju Samson is set to resume his role as captain and wicketkeeper for RR after serving as an impact substitute under Riyan Parag’s leadership in the previous games. Meanwhile, Sandeep Sharma will be vital with the ball in hand. His knack for troubling middle-order power hitters continues, having dismissed the likes of Venkatesh Iyer, Glenn Maxwell, and Marcus Stoinis a combined seven times in 18 innings. Their strike rates against him also remain modest.
Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Kumar Kartikeya
Fantasy XI Suggstion 1:
Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal (vc), Glenn Maxwell, Riyan Parag, Wanindu Hasaranga, Nitish Rana,Arshdeep Singh, Jofra Archer
Fantasy XI Suggstion 2:
Sanju Samson (c), Prabhsimran Singh (vc), Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Glenn Maxwell, Riyan Parag, Wanindu Hasaranga, Nitish Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jofra Archer, Lockie Ferguson
