Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Marcus Stoinis, Nehal Wadhera, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(c), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Sandeep Sharma

Sanju Samson: Pretty happy to bat first and put on a decent total.

Shreyas Iyer: We'll bowl first. Looking at the last game, we were playing on a new wicket and we want to see how the pitch plays. Same mindset here as well. We need to stabilise the rhytmn from game one and that's happened. Important to steady the ship from here, boys are in high spirits. Need to maintain composure and calmness throughout the season.

Punjab Kings have won the toss and have opted to field

Time for the toss. Sanju Samson is back as skipper.

The surface has a look of live grass. There are some dry patches with the grass. It is very hard. The toss shouldn't be that important. Don't think we will see much dew. 170-180 should be a par score. -- Pitch report

Pitch Report | Ian Bishop and Michael Clarke: It is very cool tonight. It is 65m to the off side and 68m to the leg side for a right hander. The straigther boundaries are longer. There is some live grass but not too much in the middle. These wickets stay consistent for 40 overs, it is pretty hard and the surface hasn't changed too much from last season. It is pretty windy so there won't be much of dew as well. 170-180 would be a par score on this surface.

Vyshak has marked him run-up, alongside Lockie Ferguson, Stoinis and Arshdeep.

Our reporter from the venue, Gokul Gopal, pings saying there is an opening ceremony in place at the Mullanpur Stadium for the first home game of PBKS. On the other end of the ground, Shimron Hetmyer shadow practices while Ricky Ponting has a close look at the pitch.

Rajasthan had a wretched start to their season, as they conceded 286 runs against SRH and then were outplayed by the champions in Assam. However, Rajasthan got back to winning ways with a impactful performance against CSK, promoting Nitish Rana up the order with Hasaranga running riot with the ball as well. The visitors welcome back Sanju Samson as skipper, and he would like to make a good captaincy start to the season against one of his more favoured opponents. Games in Mullanpur were a good contest between bat and ball last season, let’s see what today has in store. Stick around…

Punjab return back home with the strut and swagger of a team that is being led by two of the most self confident men in cricket in the last couple of decades - Ricky Ponting and Shreyas Iyer. But it is at home that they have had their problems - they lost four out of five games in Mullanpur last year, and were winless while playing in Dharamshala as well. However, this time around they’d hope to accustom themselves to home earlier, as they try to retain their unbeaten start to IPL 2025.

18:31 Local Time, 13:01 GMT, 18:31 IST: Simmering beneath the more hyped rivalries of MI-CSK or RCB-CSK, a new age feud between Punjab and Rajasthan has been festering. Nathan Ellis holding his nerve in Assam, Arshdeep Singh saving the day at the Wankede Stadium, Kartik Tyagi defending three runs in Dubai, Rahul Tewatia knocking off five sixes in Sharjah - this rivalry has seen plenty of thrilling moments in the recent past. Still in the early stages of IPL 2025 with both these teams coming off wins, we can expect another riveting contest tonight at the Mullanpur Stadium.

Preview by Gokul Gopal

Home can either be a fortress or a formidable challenge. Even for a team like Chennai Super Kings, who have the best win record in home matches, conditions at Chepauk have proven to be tricky in recent years, with the side losing three out of their last six games there. Nevertheless, having a core group of players year after year at a familiar venue is a major advantage, something teams like CSK have relied on. In this context, the Punjab Kings present a completely different story.

Since the 2023 season, PBKS have had three different venues they've called home. From the PCA stadium in Mohali, they shifted base to Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur, while also playing home matches in Dharamsala. Four losses out of five games in Mullanpur (where they play four matches this season) and a winless record in Dharamsala (where they play three games in 2025) come as a stiff challenge for the new-look PBKS, who will become the last team this season to play their maiden home match.

However, setting past records aside, the Kings have made a promising start this season. They are one of only two teams yet to face defeat, boasting a well-balanced squad and a wealth of leadership experience in captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Ricky Ponting. The batting, powered by Iyer and the top order, has looked effective in the first two matches while the bowlers have made their mark in key moments, all of which bodes well for PBKS as they aim to carry their good form into two back-to-back home matches.

Up against them are Rajasthan Royals, who bounced back from two early losses with a win over CSK. However, there are still issues they need to address. Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn't found his rhythm, and the batting order has lacked the spark of previous seasons, especially with limited overseas firepower. That said, Nitish Rana and Dhruv Jurel have stepped up when needed. On the bowling front, things are beginning to click - Jofra Archer has recovered from two expensive outings, while Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana are starting to form a promising partnership. With the bowling showing signs of stability, the onus now shifts to the top order to deliver the kind of starts that can set up more complete performances.

When: Saturday, April 5 at 7:30 PM IST

Where: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur

What to expect: Going by past records, 180-190 would be a good total batting first. Mumbai Indians' 192 against PBKS was the highest total in IPL 2024 at the new Chandigarh stadium, which has favoured the bowlers more. Totals of 180-plus in the first innings were achieved only twice last season, while there have been only two 200-plus totals in 28 T20 matches played at this ground since it started hosting in October 2022. Spinners had an economy rate of 7.08 here in IPL 2024, the lowest among the 13 venues last year.

Head to head: RR have a 16-12 record against PBKS in the IPL, which includes six wins out of nine since 2020.

Team watch

Punjab Kings

Injury and availability: Punjab Kings do not have any injury concerns at the moment.

Tactics & match-ups: Chahal could be used early in the innings as he is a good match-up option against Samson and Rana. He's dismissed Rana six times in 13 innings while Samson has been out 5 times in 10 innings to his former team-mate. Marcus Stoinis too could prove useful with the ball, having dismissed Jaiswal thrice in four innings.

Probable XII: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Nehal Wadhera/Harpreet Brar

Rajasthan Royals

Injury and availability: Samson will return as captain and wicketkeeper of the team, having played the first three matches as impact sub under Riyan Parag's leadership.

Tactics & match-ups: Sandeep Sharma will be a key bowler for RR, especially against the likes of Iyer, Maxwell and Stoinis, who have collectively been dismissed by him 7 times in 18 innings, while their batting strike rate is also on the lower side.

Probable XII: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (c & wk), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Kumar Kartikeya

Did you know?

- Among those who have faced at least 75 balls, Shashank Singh has the second best strike rate (232.46) in the death overs in IPL since 2024

- Shreyas Iyer has the third best win percentage as captain (58.33%), behind MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, among those who have led in at least 50 games

- Yashasvi Jaiswal has been dismissed seven times by short balls in the IPL since 2024 out of the 15 times he's gotten out to pacers.

- Wanindu Hasaranga is the leading wicket-taker in T20s since 2024, with 94 wickets in 57 matches at an average of 15.73 with an economy of 7.13

What they said:

I think we need to be wise while looking at the Impact Player. It depends on the venue, ground, and team combination. You cannot go in one direction regarding the Impact Player. We have options for impact players, all-rounders, spinners, and fast bowlers. Like we used Vyshak [Vijaykumar] in Ahmedabad, which came out really well as he was prepared. If there are more options, then there is always an opportunity for the players to be ready to try and do well for the team." - Sunil Joshi, PBKS spin-bowling coach.

"Missing out on three games, I was just holding myself back and seeing the game from a different perspective (as an impact player). So, it was a bit different learning and different experience for me to sit at the dugout and see my friends and young brothers playing out there, fighting out there. I am very happy and excited to be back and to be fully fit, to keep wickets, to play as a normal player. I'm really looking forward to it and it feels very exciting" - Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals captain.

Squads:

Rajasthan Royals Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Nitish Rana, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande, Shubham Dubey, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kunal Singh Rathore, Kumar Kartikeya, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Akash Madhwal

Punjab Kings Squad: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Praveen Dubey, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Vishnu Vinod, Harpreet Brar, Josh Inglis, Xavier Bartlett, Yash Thakur, Aaron Hardie, Azmatullah Omarzai, Kuldeep Sen, Harnoor Singh, Musheer Khan, Pyla Avinash