The Indian Premier League is back in Jaipur on Tuesday afternoon for what is the first of a series of do or die matches for the Rajasthan Royals. They face the Kings XI Punjab who they lost to over the weekend.
It is win out or take no part in the postseason as far as the Royals are concerned. They need five wins and a bit of a prayer if they are to make it through. Kings XI have the perfect chance to consolidate their position in the top four here.
Rajasthan Royals
It looks as though the Rajasthan Royals are starting to get a bit desperate now in terms of their batting line up. Promoting Jos Buttler to open the batting for the rain reduced match a few games ago was the right thing to do and with his performances meaning they are obliged to keep him there it gives their batting a very lop sided look.
The flip side is that their bowling is beginning to look a little more solid but at no point really have they looked like delivering consistent batting performances. They have been awful collectively against spin and their middle order has flagged that much that their lower order and tail have been exposed badly.
Kings XI Punjab
You have to say that the Kings XI Punjab are genuine contenders for this competition. I say that because they have shown they can win matches batting first and also when they bowl first. Not too many sides have shown that skill and when the push comes to shove in the latter stages of the campaign having that to fall back on could be vital.
I think it is fair to say that overall the bowlers are the strong suit of this Kings XI side but importantly for them their middle order has begun to deliver and get the job done in recent times. When you factor in that they have got an explosive top order who can destroy opponents in 6-8 overs it is not hard to see why this lot are third in the table.
Team News
It will be interesting to see what the Rajasthan Royals do to their side for this match. My gut feeling is D’Arcy Short will make way with Heinrich Klaasen most likely coming back in but so many players are out of position even that might not work.
Unless the Kings XI Punjab want to bring Yuvraj Singh back for Manoj Tiwary I would imagine they will be unchanged having taken this opponent to the cleaners in their last outing. Axar Patel could make way if they want another seamer.
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Betting
I’ve got to be with the Kings XI Punjab here. The issues that the Rajasthan Royals are having with their batting line up don’t look like they can be resolved overnight and the lack of form of their key players is very much a concern.
The Kings XI don’t have those issues. They now have three or four batsmen in blinding form and their bowling attack is a perfect combination. Rajasthan have been terrible against spin this season and the Punjab outfit have quality spin in their attack. If the Kings XI get through the openers early they may well run out comfortable winners.
Tips
Back Kings XI Punjab to beat Rajasthan Royals for a 4/10 stake at 1.73 with William Hill
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