IPL 2021: RR vs PBKS – Match 4, How can Rajasthan Royals defeat Punjab Kings today?

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will get their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign up and running today when they face the rechristened Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The two sides were woefully inconsistent last year and despite proving to be near-unbeatable on their day, patchiness led to them failing to making it to the playoffs as they finished 8th and 6th respectively.

This time around RR have made quite a few changes to their side. Chief among them was the release of skipper Steve Smith and the appointment of Sanju Samson as the captain of the side. Further, they appointed Sri Lankan cricketing icon Kumar Sangakkara as their Director of Cricket. With some smart buys at the auction to increase the squad depth and fill up the holes, they would now fancy their chances of making it to the playoffs.

Ahead of their match against PBKS, we take a look at how RR can defeat them.

IPL 2021: RR vs PBKS – Key for RR #1 – Get the batting order right

Rajasthan Royals tried out as many as 5 different opening pairs last season and till the very end, they couldn’t zero in on a particular pair. There were marked changes in the batting order throughout the tournament and the same led to the side lacking stability in their line-up.

Therefore, a lot would depend on ensuring that there is a set combination that is trusted. There were hints earlier that Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler could be the openers and while that decision could be debated, if RR decide to back them, they must go with them and not tinker too much about the other batsmen’s positions. Therefore, if the batting order is got right for tomorrow with proper spacing out of explosive batsmen, they could prove to be a handful for PBKS.

IPL 2021: RR vs PBKS – Key for RR #2 – Sort out death bowling

RR’s problems for quite some time and especially over the last season was their death bowling. With Jofra Archer being their only reliable bowler, batsmen tended to play him out safely and go after the other inexperienced bowlers which led to RR being one of the worst bowling sides at the death statistically.

The Indian bowlers were especially the concern for last year and although there haven’t been much additions in that aspect, they have brought in two excellent death bowlers in Chris Morris and Mustafizur Rahman. If the two can choke the run flow and pick up wickets regularly, PBKS and all other teams in the tournament would find the going tough.

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