Shikhar Dhawan: “Jitesh, Shahrukh and Sam Curran brought us back after we lost wickets. We didn’t bowl well. I feel that 200 should have been a good total. I feel that all the areas were not clicking together. It is a young side so it goes up and down. As a leader I learnt a lot of things. We make mistakes and from those we learn a lot. [Spinners at the death] Today I ended up in that position because we had to take the game deep and wanted my best bowlers to bowl earlier. Last game I gave Brar that over, and learnt a lesson.”
Sanju Samson: “[On the NRR] At the end of the game Hettie was going well and we felt 18.5 was when we wanted to get it. With the team which we have, it’s a bit shocking to see where we stand on the table. If we look back, we have a lot of things to discuss and look at it. [Jaiswal] He bats at this young age as if he has played a 100 T20s. [Expect Boult to pick first-over wicket?] Yes, every match!”
Devdutt Padikkal, player of the match: “Apart from the net sessions [it is the best I have hit the ball]. Was hitting well coming into the season, but it didn’t come off well. Every game you come into the side and you want to win the game. Finally I could make an impact. [No. 3] It has been that kind of a season where I have been all over the place with the order. Doesn’t matter which position I bat, I have to learn. At the start of the season not sure if i could make it. I was in a very bad shape. Thankful to everyone who supported me.”
Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings Highlights today, Friday 19-5-2023. 66th Match (N), Indian Premier League 2023, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.
Sanju Samson: “Looking at the ground and wicket, we felt it is better to bat second. We have to win the game and then see how other games go. If we want to play good cricket, one thing we have to be good at is forgetting things. We are trying to get in fresh in this game.”
Shikhar Dhawan: “Gonna be a good wicket batting first or second. We want to look to pick up wickets in the first six overs.”
Toss: Royals chose to field.
Rajasthan Royals team: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson (capt & wk), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Adam Zampa, Trent Boult, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Punjab Kings team: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sam Curran, M Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh.
Head to Head In T20’s: 25
Rajasthan Royals Won: 14
Punjab Kings Won: 11
Form guide
(last five completed Matches, most recent first)
Rajasthan Royals LWLLL
Punjab Kings LWLLW
Match Timings: 2:00 PM GMT | 7:30 PM Local
Umpires – Nand Kishore, Rod Tucker
TV Umpire – Navdeep Singh
Match Referee – Pankaj Dharmani
Reserve Umpire – Parashar Joshi
Match number – IPL 2023 – 66th Match
IPL Points Table
Pitch and weather:
Considering the small boundaries and the dew factor later in the evening, teams often tend to chase in Dharamsala. The weather is likely to be clear for the duration of the match.
