IPL 2021: Punjab Kings win toss, opt to bowl against RR
Sep 21, 2021
Dubai [UAE], September 21 : Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain KL Rahul won the toss and elected to bowl against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) encounter here at the Dubai International Stadium on Tuesday.
Speaking at the toss, KL Rahul said: "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."
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson said: "We are good at 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."
This clash sees two sides in desperate need of a victory to keep their playoff hopes alive. Both PBKS and RR are on six points, but crucially for KL Rahul's men, they've played one more game than RR, so they need this win even more.
Playing XI: Punjab Kings: KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Adil Rashid, Harpreet Brar, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Ishan Porel.
Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson(w/c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Evin Lewis, Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Mustafizur Rahman, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi.
