Live Cricket Score : IPL 2014 - Rajasthan vs Punjab, Match No 7 at Sharjah


Daijiworld Media Network

Sharjah, Apr 20 : It is going to be a kind of an Aussie battle when Rajasthan take on Punjab. Both the skippers are from Australia and most of the foreign players are also from Down Under. It will be interesting to see who gets the better of whom. Hello and welcome to Match 7 of the Indian T20 League. Both the sides looked convincing in their display in their first games. Maxwell helped Punjab to overhaul a daunting task set by Chennai and an all-round effort from Rajasthan helped them get the better of Hyderabad.

The two sides seem to have settled squads and there might not be shuffling of players today. Stay tuned for the toss and team compositions.

Punjab have won the toss and have opted to field

Bailey: 'It was a great start and it was good to get confidence and some momentum. We are going to have a bowl. Hopefully, we dont chase as many as last time. The wicket looks good and it will stay good throughout. Karthik comes in for Rishi Dhawan.'

Watson: 'Its a nice start to the tournament as a lot of preparation had gone into it. Its a new day and Punjab is a very good side. It looks like a different wicket than the one in Abu Dhabi. No problems in batting first as the wicket looks good. We have got one change, Hodge is not feeling well and Steven Smith makes his debut for Rajasthan.'

Teams:

Rajasthan (Playing XI): Ajinkya Rahane, Abhishek Nayar, Sanju Samson(w), Shane Watson(c), Stuart Binny, Steven Smith, Rajat Bhatia, James Faulkner, Kane Richardson, Pravin Tambe, Dhawal Kulkarni

Punjab (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara, Glenn Maxwell, David Miller, George Bailey(c), Wriddhiman Saha(w), Akshar Patel, Mitchell Johnson, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Parvinder Awana, Murali Kartik

Match preview

With their Indian T20 League campaigns off to a flier, both Punjab and Rajasthan would be hoping to outsmart each other when they clash in an exciting match in Sharjah on Sunday. While Punjab pulled off a sensational six-wicket win over the formidable Chennai in a high-scoring match in Abu Dhabi on Friday, the Rajasthan notched up a comfortable four-wicket win over Hyderabad later in the day. Now, both the teams will be aiming to carry on their winning momentum ahead in the tournament.

Punjab: On paper, Punjab will start as favourites against the Rajasthan. Punjab's team composition underwent a substantial overhaul this year. Led by Australian George Bailey, the Punjab franchise pulled off quite a masterstroke by snapping up India Test discard Virender Sehwag. Although he is no longer in his prime, on his day the Delhi-dasher is an enthralling game-changer, capable of mortifying opposition attacks. In Cheteshwar Pujara, hard-hitting Glenn Maxwell, David Miller and Bailey, Punjab boast of a formidable batting line-up. Their threat was visible on Friday when, chasing a mammoth 206-runs, Punjab rode on a blazing 115-run stand between David Miller and Glenn Maxwell to steal a scintillating win over Chennai.

However, bowling is a cause of concern for Punjab as almost all their bowlers went for runs against the Chennai. But Bailey will be hoping for a much-improved show from the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Laxmipathy Balaji, Rishi Dhawan and Parvinder Awana.

Rajasthan: For the inaugural Indian T20 League, their strengths and weakness are the exact opposite of their rivals. They were clinical in their bowling performance against the Sunrisers, but the batting left a lot to be desired.

Dhawal Kulkarni (2/23), Kane Richardson (2/25) and Rajat Bhatia (2/22) and Pravin Tambe (0/23) bowled economical spells to restrict the Sunrisers to 133 for six. And Shane Watson will hope for a similar performance in this game too.

On the batting front, however, the Rajasthan have some work to do as only two of their batsmen -- Ajinkya Rahane (59) and Stuart Binny (48 not out) managed double digit scores while chasing the modest score. The Rajasthan' batting department would be looking for inspiration from the legendary Rahul Dravid, who is donning the hat of a mentor. Under the able guidance of Dravid, coach Paddy Upton and skipper Watson, the team that is often considered as underdog, will be looking at springing up surprises once again, which in turn will help them to leave behind the spot-fixing ghosts of last season.

  

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Title: Live Cricket Score : IPL 2014 - Rajasthan vs Punjab, Match No 7 at Sharjah



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