Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab Betting Tips
Royals, Kings to battle for early dominance in IPL 2021
Rajasthan Royals will face Punjab Kings in the match four of the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Sunday.
Both teams will be coming in this tournament hoping that they can have a much better outing than they did in the previous campaign.
The Royals finished on the bottom of the table in the IPL 2020 with 12 points after 14 matches whereas Punjab Kings—who were known as Kings XI Punjab during the previous tournament—finished on the sixth spot, also with 12 points but with a better net run-rate.
Therefore, it will be interesting to see which team will be able to start this competition on a positive note.
Both teams have faced off in 21 matches in the history of IPL where the Royals have a better record as they managed to win on 12 occasions compared to Punjab’s nine victories.
During the two meetings in the IPL 2020, Royals came out on top on each occasion with four and seven wickets margins.
Rajasthan Royals Form and Team news:
Royals will be entering in this contest with a relatively young-looking squad which will be led by a new face in wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson, who has replaced the former Australia captain Steve Smith as the leader of the pack.
The veteran right-hander was released by the franchise ahead of the IPL 2021 auctions.
Royals’ overall squad composition is an interesting one where they have a very young core of local talent but they also feature the most expensive player sold in the 2021 auctions—all-rounder Chris Morris.
In the batting department, Rajasthan will be heavily relying on their captain Samson, England’s star duo of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to score bulk of the runs and put the opposition under pressure.
South Africa’s explosive batsman David Miller is in the squad but he is going through a mandatory seven-day quarantine period which is why he will be unavailable for the team’s first fixture.
In the bowling department, the Royals have already suffered a massive blow as star pacer Jofra Archer is set to miss at least first couple of matches as he continues his recovery from an elbow injury.
In his absence, the team will be relying on the likes of Morris, Bangladesh’s star pacer Mustafizur Rahman, Jaydev Unadkat and Andrew Tye to produce timely breakthroughs.
Punjab Kings Form and Team News:
Punjab Kings have formed a very solid squad for this year’s IPL and they will be hoping for a more than decent campaign.
The team will be led by India’s star batsman KL Rahul and he will have the services of West Indies’ veteran opener Chris Gayle, currently world number one T20I batsman Dawid Malan, exciting Nicholas Pooran and Mayank Agarwal in the batting department.
On the bowling front, the onus will be on the likes of England’s star pacer Chris Jordan, India’s veteran fast-bowler Mohammad Shami and Australia’s right-armer Jhye Richardson to produce timely breakthroughs.
Odds by Casumo
According to the Casumo sportsbook, Kings XI Punjab will be favorites to win the fourth game of the Indian Premier League to be played at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. For the 4th IPL game, Rajasthan Royals are placed at 1.94 odds, while Kings XI Punjab are placed at 1.82 odds.
Our Tipster’s Angle
Looking at the overall composition of the squads ahead of this fixture, it is fair to say that Punjab Kings look a much better unit compared to their opponents for Sunday’s fixture.
Therefore, the prediction is for KL Rahul-led team to win the match and start their competition on a positive note.
Tip 1: Lokesh Rahul to continue his merry ways with the bat in IPL
After struggling to find form in the T20I series against England, Rahul made a strong comeback in the three-match ODI series. He scored a splendid ton for India in the second ODI played against England at Pune.
After being named as captain for Kings XI Punjab, Lokesh Rahul has shown incredible form and consistency at the top of the innings. Last season, Rahul played exceedingly well and topped the batting charts in the competition with 670 runs at a strike rate of 129.34, which includes 1 century and 5 half-centuries.
Given his excellent numbers and consistency for Kings XI in the previous three editions of IPL, we are expecting Rahul to score 40 runs or more against [email protected].
Tip 2: Ben Stokes will be looking to make an impact with bat and ball this season.
England’s Talismanic all-rounder will be keen to make an impression with bat and ball for Rajasthan in this year’s competition. In the recently concluded ODI series, Stokes showed excellent form with the bat for England.
Left-hander will be looking to adjust to the conditions and deliver his absolute his best with the bat for Rajasthan in this year’s competition.
Last year, Ben Stokes accumulated 285 runs in 8 innings at an average of 40.71 with one century and one half-century to his name. Given his match-winning ability with the bat in T20 format, we are expecting Ben Stokes to score 30 runs or more in this [email protected].
Conclusion
Expect Kings XI Punjab to beat Rajasthan Royals by a comfortable margin in the fourth game of Indian Premier League.
- Lokesh Rahul to score 40 runs or more against Rajasthan- Kings XI [email protected]
- Ben Stokes to score 30 runs or more in this contest-Rajasthan [email protected]
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Sports: All odds are subject to change
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