RR VS PBKS, MATCH 4- IPL 2021
The Rajasthan Royals take on the Punjab Kings ( RR vs PBKS IPL ) in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in the fourth game of Vivo IPL 2021 on Monday, 12 April. Neither of the teams secured it to the playoffs last year. RR finished 8th and PBKS (then KXIP) finished 6th place. Both teams were pretty busy during the IPL 2021 Auction. Chris Morris was signed by RR after an extended bid war with the PBKS for a record signing of INR 16.25 crore.
By signing Aussie fasts Jhye Richardson and Riley Meredith, the Punjab Kings strengthened their pace attack. Despite their auction signings, a lot of criticism has ranked these two teams fairly poor. If they can bounceback and make it to the playoffs it would be fascinating.
The Royals let go of skipper Steve Smith and appointed Sanju Samson as the captain of the side. For quite a while the Kerala wicket-keeper-batsman was a pillar of the side. How he leads this squad would be fascinating to see. The star pacer Jofra Archer will miss some matches due to injury. Morris should lead their pace attack. But in Mustafizur Rahmann and AJ Tye, they have promising backup options.
Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler will be crucial to their success this season. It’ll be interesting to see which of the two opens the batting. The Punjab Kings will hope that skipper KL Rahul and their new signings can guide them to a playoff berth. Their top-order looks incredibly strong, with the addition of No.1 ranked T20I batsman Dawid Malan bolstering a side that already has the likes of Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, and Mayank Agarwal.
RR VS PBKS – 4th MATCH OF VIVO IPL 2021
SA vs PAK, 2nd T20I
The second T20I between Pakistan and South Africa takes place in Johannesburg on Monday.
Despite a bunch of personnel concerns, a weakened South African side impressed one and all in the opening encounter. Riding on the batting exploits of Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen, South Africa came close to toppling Pakistan. But it wasn’t meant to be as their inexperience on the bowling front cost them the game in the final moments. However, the Proteas are well and truly capable of leveling the series, and with the likes of Jenneman Malan and Tabraiz Shamsi looking in good form, South Africa will fancy their chances.
Pakistan, who were made to work hard in the first game, will be looking to seal another series win over the Proteas. If not for a stunning knock from Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan would have definitely rued their missed opportunities with the ball. All eyes will be on the star trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali. The visitors look to out-bowl South Africa in what should be a cracking game of cricket in Johannesburg come Monday.
SA VS PAK – MATCH DETAILS AND PREDICTIONS
Tarun