After an exciting finish in yesterday’s match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils, where CSK managed to win by a run, today’s encounter is expected to be no less of a thriller. Both the teams competing today are filled with match winners and more over with World Champions. The reason we say that, Rajasthan Royals is led by Shane Watson and has other Australians like Steve Smith and James Faulkner in the team.
On the other hand Kings XI Punjab is led by George Bailey and other Australians in this team include Glen Maxwell, Shaun Marsh and Mitchell Johnson. Both these teams are dependent on their Australian counterpart, the current world champions and that is one of the few reasons why this match is going to be a cracker of a match.
Before we discuss further let us take a look as to how both these teams have performed against each other in previous 7 seasons
|
Winner |
Margin |
MoM |
Venue |
Match Date |
|
Rajasthan Royals |
6 Wickets |
Shane Watson |
Jaipur |
Apr 21, 2008 |
|
Kings XI Punjab |
41 Runs |
Shaun Marsh |
Mohali |
May 28, 2008 |
|
Kings XI Punjab |
27 Runs |
Kumar Sangakkara |
Cape Town |
Apr 26, 2009 |
|
Rajasthan Royals |
78 Runs |
Graeme Smith |
Durban |
May 5, 2009 |
|
Rajasthan Royals |
31 Runs |
Adam Voges |
Mohali |
Mar 24, 2010 |
|
Rajasthan Royals |
9 Wickets |
Michael Lumb |
Jaipur |
Apr 7, 2010 |
|
Kings XI Punjab |
48 Runs |
Shaun Marsh |
Mohali |
Apr 21, 2011 |
|
Rajasthan Royals |
31 Runs |
Ajinkya Rahane |
Jaipur |
Apr 6, 2012 |
|
Rajasthan Royals |
43 Runs |
Shane Watson |
Mohali |
May 5, 2012 |
|
Rajasthan Royals |
6 Wickets |
James Faiulkner |
Jaipur |
Apr 14, 2013 |
|
Rajasthan Royals |
8 Wickets |
Kevon Cooper |
Mohali |
May 9, 2013 |
|
Kings XI Punjab |
7 Wickets |
Glen Maxwell |
Sharjah |
Apr 20, 2014 |
|
Kings XI Punjab |
16 Runs |
Shaun Marsh |
Mohali |
May 23, 2014 |
|
TOTAL: 13 Matches |
|
RR 8 : 5 KXIP |
|
|
*Stats updated till 9 April, 2015
Off the 13 matches played among both these teams, Rajasthan has won 8, whereas Punjab has won 5. But last season both these teams faced each other, it was Kings who dominated the Royals. There will be a lot of glamour expected in the match too as Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty would go all out to support their respective teams. Above all the match is being played in Pune, which has one of the best stadiums in India.
Above all, many eyes would be on Virender Sehwag too. India’s opening batsmen would like to make a mark and prove to the World that he’s still got a lot of cricket left in him. Rahul Dravid as a mentor on the other side would be crucial to motivate the Royals team.
Players to watch out for:
Shaun Marsh:
With 3 Man of the Match awards in the 13 encounters both these teams have had. We can say that Marsh loves playing against the Royals and like scoring runs against them too.
Steve Smith:
Has had a terrific season in Australia and would love to continue the show, here in India too. He has got the temperament and the skill too, all that a player requires. He can definitely be valuable player this season.
Most Runs
RR – Shane Watson : 2025 Runs
KXIP – Virender Sehwag : 2629 Runs
Most Wickets
RR – Rajat Bhatia : 63 Wickets
KXIP – Mitchell Johnson : 41 Wickets
Captain
RR – Shane Watson
KXIP – George Bailey
