On April 5, 2023, the eighth game of the Indian Premier League 2023 would take place at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS).
In the inaugural season of the IPL (2008), the Rajasthan Royals (RR) won the final. They haven’t been able to repeat that accomplishment though.
The Jos Buttler-led RR did make it to the finals last season, where they were defeated by the Gujarat Titans, a newcomer. However, Punjab Kings, who have yet to win the championship, placed sixth in the standings last year.
Both teams will play each other twice in the forthcoming sixth-eighteenth season of the Indian Premier League: on April 5, 2023, in Guwahati, and on May 19, in a repeat match, in Dharamsala.
Rajasthan Royals
The Rajasthan Royals will enter RR vs PBKS match as a strong team after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by a huge margin of 72 runs. The top three SRH bowlers were well outplayed by the top-order batsmen, who all scored fifty-plus scores.
The young wonder Yashasvi Jaiswal, who hit 54 runs from 37 balls, was ably assisted by Jos Buttler, who took the bowlers to task early on with a 20-ball fifty. Then Sanju Samson scored 55 runs to assist the team reach a massive total of 203/5.
Punjab Kings
In their opening match, Punjab Kings took on Kolkata Knight Riders. Prabhsimran Singh, a dependable young player for Punjab Kings, scored 23 runs in 12 balls to get the game going. From there, Bhanuka Rajapaksha took control with a quick-fifty off 32 balls, assisted by skipper Shikhar Dhawan’s 40-run innings.
Rajapaksa was the player that stood out with the bat when he finally reached 50 runs after 23 innings and scored his first run since the Asia Cup finals. They managed to score 191/5 in 20 overs thanks to some solid cameos from middle-order.
RR vs PBKS Head-to-Head record:
The two teams have faced off 24 times, with Rajasthan Royals dominating the match with 14 victories to Punjab Kings’ 10 victories. Four of their last five games saw the Rajasthan Royals come out on top.
| Matches Played | 24 |
| Rajasthan Royals | 14 |
| Punjab Kings | 10 |
List of matches played between RR and PBKS since IPL 2008
| Date | Winner | Won by | Venue |
| 07-May-2022 | Rajasthan Royals | 6 Wickets | Mumbai |
| 21-Sep-2021 | Rajasthan Royals | 2 Runs | Dubai |
| 12-Apr-2021 | Punjab Kings | 4 Runs | Mumbai |
| 30-Oct-2020 | Rajasthan Royals | 7 Wickets | Abu Dhabi |
| 27-Sep-2020 | Rajasthan Royals | 4 Wickets | Sharjah |
| 16-Apr-2019 | Punjab Kings | 12 Runs | Mohali |
| 25-Mar-2019 | Punjab Kings | 14 Runs | Jaipur |
| 8-May-2018 | Rajasthan Royals | 15 Runs | Jaipur |
| 6-May-2018 | Punjab Kings | 6 Wickets | Indore |
| 21-Apr-2015 | Punjab Kings | One-Over Eliminator | Ahmedabad |
| 10-Apr-2015 | Rajasthan Royals | 26 Runs | Pune |
| 23-May-2014 | Punjab Kings | 16 Runs | Sharjah |
| 20-Apr-2014 | Punjab Kings | 7 Wickets | Mohali |
| 9-May-2013 | Rajasthan Royals | 8 Wickets | Mohali |
| 14-Apr-2013 | Rajasthan Royals | 6 Wickets | Jaipur |
| 5-May-2012 | Rajasthan Royals | 43 Runs | Mohali |
| 6-Apr-2012 | Rajasthan Royals | 31 Runs | Jaipur |
| 21-Apr-2011 | Punjab Kings | 48 Runs | Mohali |
| 7-Apr-2010 | Rajasthan Royals | 9 Wickets | Jaipur |
| 24-Mar-2010 | Rajasthan Royals | 31 Runs | Mohali |
| 05-May-2009 | Rajasthan Royals | 78 Runs | Durban |
| 26-Apr-2009 | Punjab Kings | 27 Runs | Cape Town |
| 28-May-2008 | Punjab Kings | 41 Runs | Mohali |
| 21-Apr-2008 | Rajasthan Royals | 6 Wickets | Jaipur |
Most runs in RR vs PBKS fixtures
Sanju Samson (RR) – 552 runs
Most wickets in RR vs PBKS fixtures
Piyush Chawla (PBKS) – 14 wickets
Squads
Rajasthan Royals Full Squad:
Sanju Samson (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Jos Buttler, Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Obed McCoy, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Sen, Kuldip Yadav, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, KC Cariappa, Jason Holder, Donovan Ferreira, Kunal Rathore, Adam Zampa, KM Asif, Murugan Ashwin, Akash Vashisht, Abdul P A, Joe Root
Punjab Kings Full Squad:
Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shahrukh Khan, Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh, Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, Shivam Singh
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