The 9th match of IPL 2020 will be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, played between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab. The match will be kicked off on 27th September (Sunday) at 20:00 (GMT+6).
After that fine victory against the Chennai Super Kings in their first match, the Rajasthan Royals will be facing Kings XI Punjab in this match. Both these sides would like to put up big totals at a small stadium in Sharjah and register yet another victory in the tournament. While the Rajasthan Royals will play their second match at this venue, it will be the first one for Kings XI Punjab team.
Although Kings XI Punjab started off with an upset against the Delhi Capitals, they successfully bounced back hard against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. They not only recovered from the bruises of the first defeat but also greatly improved their Net Run Rate (NRR) by recording a 97-run victory. They’d aim to continue this momentum and make it two out of two.
Weather
During the match, strong winds are expected and Sunday evening will be very hot. It is expected that the humidity levels will increase as the match progresses.
Pitch
Another high-scoring game could be on the cards with short boundaries and a batting-friendly pitch. At this venue, it is hard for both the spinners and the pacers to bowl.
Average first innings score: 216 (At this pitch in this tournament)
Chasing Teams Record: 0 Won, 1 Lost, 0 Tied
Probable Playing XIs
Rajasthan Royals:
Steve Smith (c), Jos Buttler, Robin Uthappa, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Gopal, Sanju Samson (wk),Riyan Parag, Tom Curran, Rahul Tewatia, Jofra Archer, Jaydev Unadkat.
Kings XI Punjab:
KL Rahul (c)(wk), Chris Gayle/Nicholas Pooran, Sarfaraz Khan, Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, Glenn Maxwell, , Ravi Bishnoi, Murugan Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, James Neesham, Sheldon Cottrell.
Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab Dream11:
Jos Buttler (c), Steve Smith (vc), KL Rahul, , Sanju Samson, Robin Uthappa, , Yashasvi Jaiswal, Glenn Maxwell, Ravi Bishnoi, Sheldon Cottrell, Mohammed Shami, Shreyas Gopal
With the short boundaries in Sharjah, there is a chance that Chris Gayle may make it to the Kings XI Punjab team in place of Nicholas Pooran. After the toss, watch out for the Playing XIs. According to our cricket expert’s predictions, Rajasthan Royals will win this match!