Two highly skilled teams are set to collide in what promises to be an exciting match. With both the teams eager to secure their second consecutive win in the IPL 2023.
On Wednesday, April 5, at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, the eighth match of IPL 2023 will see the Rajasthan Royals (RR) take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS).
Both teams will take the field with confidence as they won their respective opening matches of the IPL 2023 season. Punjab Kings registered a victory against Kolkata Knight Riders in their first game despite missing some of their key players. The Royals, on the other hand, will aim to repeat their dominant performance from their first match, relying on their aggressive top-order batting, effective new-ball bowling, and disciplined spin attack to secure a win against their opponents.
In the TATA IPL 2023, Sanju Samson is the captain of Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2023. Punjab Kings has a new skipper in the form of Shikhar Dhawan.
Also Read: IPL 2023 RR vs PBKS: Live Telecast Channel – Where to Watch Match 8 Live on TV?
IPL 2023 RR vs PBKS: Injury Updates for Today’s Match
Rajasthan Royals
Due to a lumbar stress fracture, Rajasthan Royals’ pacer Prasidh Krishna was ruled out of IPL 2023. Consequently, the Royals have brought in swing bowler Sandeep Sharma as a replacement for Krishna.
Apart from Krishna, the West Indies fast bowler Obed McCoy will also miss today’s game as he is currently nursing an injury.
RR Squad for IPL 2023:
Sanju Samson (wk/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Shimron Hetmyer, Navdeep Saini, KM Ashif, Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult, Murugan Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Adam Zampa, Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Vashisth, Jason Holder, Abdul PA, Kunal Rathore, Joe Root, KC Cariappa, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Donovan Ferreira.
RR have won their maiden IPL title in the year 2008. However they came closer four more times after that when they reached the playoffs. Recently, in IPL 2022 they played a final against GT, where they emerged as the runner-ups of the same session.
Punjab Kings
The absence of Jonny Bairstow will be a huge blow for the Punjab Kings. Bairstow has been ruled out of the entire IPL due to a leg injury he had sustained while playing golf last September. Punjab Kings have named Matthew Short as his replacement who is expected to open the batting alongside Shikar Dhawan.
Apart from Bairstow, another star English player Liam Livingstone will miss today’s match, as he is yet to get clearance from the ECB following a knee injury will miss today’s match because of his national commitments.
PBKS squad for IPL 2023:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Raj Bawa, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Rishi Dhawan, Nathan Ellis, Harpreet Brar, Harpreet Singh, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, M Shahrukh Khan, Jitesh Sharma, Shivam Singh, Matthew Short, Sikandar Raza, Atharva Taide.
PBKS have never won the IPL title in the last 15 years. The closest they came was a final appearance in 2014, where they got defeated by KKR and a semi-final defeat against CSK in the inaugural season.
Both teams will be hoping to put their best foot forward in the TATA IPL 2023 as the match starts at 7:30PM IST.