FANTASY
Follow UsIn the resumption of IPL 2021, the third match is between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Both teams are tied with six points, but Rajasthan (-0.19) are above Punjab (-0.368) with a better net run rate. The two teams have been involved in some high scoring encounters in the last two years. In IPL since 2019, the first innings average score has been around 199 and in the second innings 194 runs have been scored on an average. Overall, on an average 196 runs have been scored in the five encounters.
When it comes to head-to-head contests, Rajasthan have the upper hand with 12 wins in 22 matches. In the last five matches Punjab have the wood over Rajasthan with three wins. In the reverse leg of this season as well, Punjab won by four runs. This is the first time these two teams are going against each other in Dubai.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Overall: Matches – 22 | PBKS – 10 wins | RR – 12 wins
Last five matches: PBKS – 3 wins | RR – 2 wins
SUGGESTED TEAM
While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Based on your preferences, the platform will guide you to create the ideal fantasy XI.
GROUND DETAILS
The Dubai International Cricket Stadium, has been a decent venue for both batsmen and the bowlers in IPL since 2020. On an average, teams have scored 171 runs in the first innings, which is a moderate number. On the other hand, bowlers have bagged a wicket every 19.8 balls. This clearly indicates, both batsmen and bowlers have had their say at the venue in the aforementioned time.
As is the case in most of the grounds, pacers have bowled the larger chunk of overs (61.2%) and have had the higher percentage of wickets (68.1%). In terms of balls/wickets as well, pacers with 19.3 balls/wicket are way ahead in comparison to 26.2 by spinners. The only aspect that spinners excel is the economy (7.4).
SUGGESTED CAPTAIN
The Punjab Kings skipper KL Rahul, is an inevitable choice of captain in the fantasy team. It is just not about IPL, the form he is carrying from the Test series as well will be crucial. In this season, he has already scored 331 runs at an average of 66.2 and strike rate of 136.2. Moreover, he will be playing against a team which has scores of 52, 69, 46 and 91 in his last four IPL innings. Overall, Rahul averages 60.1 in 10 innings against Rajasthan in IPL.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts, Rahul could score 34-50 runs against Rajasthan
X-FACTORS
There is one big player whom everyone is eagerly waiting to watch and that is Liam Livingstone. The year 2021 has been his most productive year in terms of runs. With 1213 runs at an average of 44.9 and strike rate of 157.7, Livingstone is the third highest run scorer in 2021. In the recently completed inaugural edition of The Hundred, Livingstone was the highest run scorer. None of the batsmen who had scored 100+ runs in that series were matching his strike rate of 178.5.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts, Livingstone could score runs against Punjab
Rahul’s Karnataka teammate Mayank Agarwal, is also one of the players to watch out for. With 260 runs in this IPL at an average of 43.3 and a strike rate of 141.3, Agarwal is the second highest run scorer for Punjab. Like-like his skipper, Mayank also has had a decent run against Rajasthan in IPL since 2019. In four innings against them this time, he has scored runs at an average of 42 and strike rate of 176.8.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts, Mayank could score 51-77 runs against Rajasthan
“The fizz” Mustafizur Rahman was a menace for the batsmen in his last two home international T20 series against Australia and New Zealand. Against Australia, in five matches he had picked up seven wickets at balls/dismissal ratio of 14.6 and against New Zealand he had eight wickets at 10.8. With a rich vein of form, he is undeniably an x-factor and a must have in the team.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts, Mustafizur could pick 2-3 wickets against Punjab