Rajasthan Royals won the toss against the Punjab Kings at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala in the 66th match of the TATA IPL 2023. In a must win match for both teams, Rajashthan will look to set the tone with the ball in hand having won the toss.
However, Rajasthan are without the services of their main spinner Ravichandran Ashwin. In the 13 matches in the IPL 2023, Ashwin has taken 14 wickets. But more than the wickets, the impressive thing about Ashwin is his economy. In this modern era, finger spinners are usually taken for cleaners. But Ashwin has bowled with a miser economy of 7.51. Hence his exclusion is a big blow for the Royals in a crucial encounter.
Why is Ashwin not playing today?
Sanju Samson said at the toss that the off-spinner misses out the game due to a back spasm. The extent of the injury is however unknown as Ashwin with the big WTC Final looming around the corner.
What did the captains say at the toss?
Shikhar Dhawan: Last match, dew wasn’t much. First batting or second, it shouldn’t change much. We will come and enjoy the game. Will try to give our best shot. We need to take more wickets in the first 6 overs. We can cash in more. We are playing the same team.
Sanju Samson: We will bowl. Looking at the dimensions and looking as to what we require in the tournament, it is better to bowl. We need to win the game. Then see how the other games go. If you want to play good T20 cricket, you need to forget things. We have had four to five days off. One has to understand the conditions. We have couple of changes. Last minute changes. Ashwin misses out because of a back spasm.
Playing XI
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan(c), Prabhsimran Singh, Atharva Taide, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jitesh Sharma(w), Shahrukh Khan, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Kagiso Rabada, Arshdeep Singh
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Devdutt Padikkal, Shimron Hetmyer, Riyan Parag, Adam Zampa, Trent Boult, Navdeep Saini, Sandeep Sharma, Yuzvendra Chahal
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