Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) are set to lock horns in Match No.8 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 on Wednesday, April 5 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.
Both teams have got off to splendid starts in the tournament. The Kings, led by Shikhar Dhawan, defeated Nitish Rana’s Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by seven runs (DLS) at the PCA Stadium in Mohali. Arshdeep Singh became the Player of the Match for picking up three wickets and pushing KKR below the Duckworth-Lewis par score.
The Royals, on the other hand, handed Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) a crushing 72-run defeat on Sunday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Jos Buttler became the Player of the Match after he smashed a 20-ball fifty.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sanju Samson scored fifties as well. Yuzvendra Chahal picked up a four-wicket haul, but it was Trent Boult, who made the early inroads by dismissing Rahul Tripathi and Abhishek Sharma.
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RR vs PBKS head-to-head record
Both teams have played 24 matches against each other and the Royals have mostly dominated. In fact, RR have beaten PBKS in four of their last five meetings in the IPL.
Here’s a look at how the current RR vs PBKS head-to-head record stands:
| Matches Played | 24 |
| PBKS won | 9 |
| RR won | 14 |
| Tie | 1 |
| No result | 0 |
RR vs PBKS IPL match results
Until 2019, there was very little to separate the two teams. But in the last five matches, the Royals have been dominant.
Here is a more detailed look at how this rivalry has unfolded:
| Date | Winner | Won by | Venue |
| 07-05-2022 | Rajasthan Royals | 6 wickets | Mumbai |
| 21-Jul-21 | Rajasthan Royals | 2 runs | Dubai |
| 12-04-2021 | Punjab Kings | 4 runs | Mumbai |
| 30-10-2020 | Rajasthan Royals | 7 wickets | Abu Dhabi |
| 27-09-2020 | Rajasthan Royals | 4 wickets | Sharjah |
| 16-04-2019 | Punjab Kings | 12 runs | Mohali |
| 25-03-2019 | Punjab Kings | 14 runs | Jaipur |
| 08-05-2018 | Rajasthan Royals | 15 runs | Jaipur |
| 06-05-2018 | Punjab Kings | 6 wickets | Indore |
| 21-04-2015 | Punjab Kings | Super Over | Ahmedabad |
| 10-04-2015 | Rajasthan Royals | 26 runs | Pune |
| 23-05-2014 | Punjab Kings | 16 runs | Sharjah |
| 20-04-2014 | Punjab Kings | 7 wickets | Mohali |
| 09-05-2013 | Rajasthan Royals | 8 wickets | Mohali |
| 14-04-2013 | Rajasthan Royals | 6 wickets | Jaipur |
| 05-05-2012 | Rajasthan Royals | 43 runs | Mohali |
| 06-04-2012 | Rajasthan Royals | 31 runs | Jaipur |
| 21-04-2011 | Punjab Kings | 48 runs | Mohali |
| 07-04-2010 | Rajasthan Royals | 9 wickets | Jaipur |
| 24-03-2010 | Rajasthan Royals | 31 runs | Mohali |
| 05-05-2009 | Rajasthan Royals | 78 runs | Durban |
| 26-04-2009 | Punjab Kings | 27 runs | Cape Town |
| 28-05-2008 | Punjab Kings | 41 runs | Mohali |
| 21-04-2008 | Rajasthan Royals | 6 wickets | Jaipur |
RR vs PBKS IPL stats
Most runs
Samson is the leading run-scorer with 552 runs followed by KL Rahul, who has scored 490 and is currently with the Lucknow Super Giants. Shaun Marsh, the leading run-scorer of IPL 2008, and a number of other big players also feature in the squad.
| Player Name | Runs |
| Sanju Samson | 552 |
| KL Rahul | 490 |
| Shaun Marsh | 409 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 373 |
| Shane Watson | 316 |
Most wickets
Piyush Chawla is the leading wicket-taker in matches between SRH and the Royals. The leg-spinner, who is with the Mumbai Indians, has 14 wickets followed by Arshdeep Singh, who has 12 wickets.
| Player Name | Wickets |
| Piyush Chawla | 14 |
| Arshdeep Singh | 12 |
| Siddharth Trivedi | 11 |
| Mohammed Shami | 10 |
| James Faulkner | 10 |
Best match in the Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings head-to-head
Punjab Kings have fallen behind in their rivalry with the Sunrisers. After beating two-time champions Knight Riders, they will be looking to carry their winning momentum. The 23rd match between them in 2021 in Dubai where the Royals won by two runs happens to be the most exciting contest in their rivalry.
Here is a look at how the match unfolded:
Game 23 – RR beat PBKS by 2 runs
After being put in to bat first, the Royals put up a decent score of 185 in 20 overs. Yashasvi Jaiswal was the pick of their batters with 49 runs off 36 balls, but it was Evin Lewis and Mahipal Lomror, who both injected momentum into the innings.
Lewis scored 36 off 21 while opening the batting after which Lomror chipped in with a quickfire 43. Arshdeep was the standout bowler for PBKS after he finished with figures of 4-0-32-5. Mohammed Shami picked up three wickets as well.
The Kings were well and truly in command before they imploded in the final over. With PBKS needing tour runs to win off six balls, Kartik Tyagi conceded only a single to give the Royals an unexpected win.
In the last four balls, Tyagi picked up the wickets of Deepak Hooda and Nicholas Pooran and did not concede a single run.
Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul laid the platform with a partnership of 120 runs for the first wicket off 11.5 overs. When Pooran was batting on 32 off 22, it seemed PBKS would cruise home, but Tyagi, who won the Player of the Match award, had other ideas.
