IPL 2021: Will take it match by match, says Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant ahead of SRH game

Benefitting from the three sives he has been granted inside the powerplay, Punjab Kings captain KL Rahul raced to 24-ball 36 laced with two boundaries and as many sixes. Mayank joined the party smashing a hat-trick of sixes against Kartik Tyagi to score 42 off 31 as the Punjab openers amassed an 81-run opening stand. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal's 49 off 36 deliveries laid the foundation before Manipal Lomror hit a 17-ball 43 to help Royals post an intimidating 185 on the board. Debutant Ewin Lewis also chipped in with 36 at the start and Liam Livingstone contributed with a short-lived 25-run cameo featuring 2 fours and a six. On the bowling front, Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the unit with five wickets. Mohammed Shami also recorded impressive bowling figures of 3/21 while Ishan Porel and Harpreet Brar picked a wicket each. 

Playing his first IPL game since October 2020, Lomror fired four sixes and two boundaries to score an unbeaten 42 off 15 which included a 26-run over off Deepak Hooda. 

While wickets kept falling at regular intervals on the other end of the crease, Yashasvi kept the scoreboard ticking for the Royals, lacing six boundaries and two sixes to score 49 off 35. However, the youngster narrowly missed out on his much-deserved half-century. Jaiswal looked to nudge the ball to mid-wicket for a single to complete his half-century, but ball took the leading edge and Mayank completed his second catch of the evening. 

Allen dived to his right to take a stunner at deep mid-wicket. The Jaiswal-Livingstone stand has finally been broken as Arshdeep takes his second wicket. Rajasthan 118/3.

A slower leg-cutter from Arshdeep ended Lewis's bright debut as he mistimed his shot. Mayank Agarwal dived low to complete the catch. Lewis departed for 36 off 21

Yashasvi Jaiswal started off the innings on a positive note scoring two boundaries against Mohammed Shami in the first over before his openeing partner Evin Lewis joined tjhe party with a six over long-on against debutant Ishan Porel. Lewis continued to fire against the young India pacer, smashing 16 runs with four consecutive boundaries before taking on Deepak Hooda for two more. The pair stitched a 50-run opening stand in 33 balls to provide Royals a strong start

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Ishan Porel, Adil Rashid, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Evin Lewis, Sanju Samson(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi

Sanju Samson: We are good are chasing and setting totals, so we were happy to do both. We have really great talent and characters in our team. It is a very positive atmosphere. Sangakkara brings in the experience, he knows what to communicate at what point. He just wanted us to relax. Lewis, Livingstone, Morris and Mustafizur are our foreigners.

KL Rahul: We'll bowl first. It's a no brainer, a fresh wicket with grass on. We don't know how it will play and I prefer chasing. I was just telling a few people in the dressing room that it just felt like yesterday that we were playing IPL 2020. We have a lot that we've learnt from last year. We are all professionals and we have tried hard in the heat to prefer ourselves. Pooran, Markram, Rashid and Allen are our overseas players. Unfortunately, Chris Gayle misses out and Aiden has been in good form coming into our setup from Sri Lanka.

Punjab Kings win toss, opt to bowl against Rajasthan Royals in DubaI

Markram and Rashid are playing for Punjab today while Chris Jordan is expected to the third overseas player in the XI. This means one between Nicholas Pooran and birthday boy Gayle will be the fourth foreigner. 

Evin Lewis has been handed his debut cap for Rajasthan Royals. He will make his debut alongside Ishan Porel, Aiden Markram and Adil Rashid who have been handed their debut caps for Punjab Kings.

Liam Livingstone and Evin Lewis's explosive batting will meet its match in Chris Gayle's power and KL Rahul's finesse when Rajasthan Royals lock horns with Punjab Kings to improve upon their mid-table position in the Indian Premier League here on Tuesday.

The two IPL teams have been perennial under-achievers in the league and would be desperate to change their fortunes after disappointing one and all with their underwhelming performances over the past few seasons. More so for Punjab Kings, the only team that has lacked any kind of stability over the 14 seasons of IPL with captains and coaches being changed like musical chairs.

'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle is celebrating his 42nd birthday today. The Punjab Kings (PBKS) batting mainstay is known as a T20 phenom, scoring 14261 runs in the format -- the most ever by any cricketer -- at an average of 36.94 and a strike rate of 145.87. 

Rajasthan presently stand sixth in the points table with six points from three wins, similar to that of Punjab Kings, sho stand seventh, separated only by a superior net run rate. 

Rajasthan Royals have won 12 of their 22 meetings in T20 cricket while Punjab Kings won 10 matches in the rivalry.