Rajasthan Royals Impact Subs: Kumar Kartikeya, Shubham Dubey, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Singh Rathore, Yudhvir Singh Charak

Punjab Kings Impact Subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan

Teams:

Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Sanju Samson: Wanted to bowl first.

Shreyas Iyer: We are going to bat first. The wicket looks fantastic, know how it plays here. The powerhouse has been our batting, so got to make the best use of it. Everyone is in high spirits. The mindset has been strong. Trying to make the best use of the sources.

Punjab Kings have won the toss and have opted to bat

Right then, it's toss time..

Ricky Ponting | PBKS Head Coach: It's been a really good, really positive start to the tournament. We've played some really good cricket on the way through, we're sitting where we are on the table as a result of that. We've had some challenges last week like everybody has but the boys have come back together particularly well. We've got some really strong good characters around this group that'll hopefully lead the way again today. This is going to be our home ground after this game as well, so we've got to get a good understanding of the conditions here, make sure we play well today and carry that over to the back half of the tournament. I couldn't be happier with the way the group has come together and we've played some really good cricket so far. We were playing good cricket when we finished, there's no reason we can't play good cricket again today. That's the way to look at it. To be honest, we haven't spoken about anything, we came back together three days ago, three really solid days of training and preparation here in the sun and in the heat. Everything that the boys have said whether it's been through the three days or through the team meeting today has been ultra positive and they can't wait to get back out there and play again. Really good signs around this group. (Believer of peaking at the right time?) Definitely, there's no doubt about that. All tournaments are about that, trying to peak at the  right time. What does peaking mean is it means you've got all the best players in form in the important games and that's where we are building to. Our top-order batting in the last few games has been  particularly good, we've been able to post some really big scores. As long as that hunger is still there and I expect that from this group because so far in the tournament we've achieved nothing yet. I've loved working with Shreyas, he's a great human being. You've seen in this tournament how good a player he is and his leadership has been outstanding. We've got no issues going forward.

Pitch report: It's the center wicket that has been used today. The square boundaries are 67m and 63m respectively, while it's 73m straight down the ground. The conditions are hot and the wicket looks heated up due to the same. The hessian has been used to ensure the moisture stays in it. There's little grass on the wicket and that is to keep the surface together, so that it doesn't break up. 180 should be a good score batting first in an afternoon game. The spinners might bowl from one end predominantly, reckons Deep Dasgupta.

14:30 Local Time, 09:00 GMT, 14:30 IST: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Match 59! After a break of 10 days, IPL returned last night, however, the match between RCB and KKR got washed out due to rain, eliminating the defending champions out of the tournament. Today, Punjab Kings will lock horns with Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur. Shreyas Iyer has been in prime form this season and so have been the Punjab Kings openers. Their bowlers have clicked together as a unit, hence Punjab are in contention to lift the title this season. Facing an opposition like Rajasthan Royals will simplify things further as the Royals have been a pale shadow of their previous year. Without Buttler’s presence in their top order, they have looked handicapped despite having some exciting young Indian batters. Will the Kings topple the Royals and inch closer to the top of the table today? We shall find out soon, stay around for the toss and teams..

Preview

Game abandonments are never ideal, especially when you have racked up 122 in 10.1 overs batting first. However, extraordinary circumstances deterred Punjab Kings from pushing for the two points. That game will be replayed, of course, but PBKS will know that such momentum doesn't come every day. For starters, conditions in Jaipur won't be anywhere close to Dharamsala where strokeplay and powerhitting has been productive for the batters.

It's not that Jaipur has been very tough to score against, but the nature of the pitches remain a constant puzzle. PBKS resume their IPL 2025 campaign at this venue, taking on the home side in the afternoon game on Sunday (May 18). Like most teams, the visitors have also had some overseas setbacks, while some foreign players may not be part of the playoffs, should they get there. Nevertheless, Punjab look a formidable outfit with all departments firing on all cylinders. The batting in particular has been in terrific form led by the uncapped opening duo of Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh.

Captain Shreyas Iyer has led by example and the sheer intent-filled batting approach of PBKS has often pulverised opponents. They'll be up against a Rajasthan Royals side that are already eliminated and have a struggling bowling unit. It has been a season to forget for RR, barring some individual sparks from their players. Losing regular skipper Sanju Samson for most parts hasn't helped, and their inability to close out comfortable chases would be haunting them. He is, however, set to make a comeback for this fixture and was seen sweating it out in training.

RR's auction strategy for the bowling department was fickle and backfired this season. With just the cliche'd pride to play for, the Royals will want to sign off their home leg on a high. A lot has changed since their reverse fixture in Chandigarh that RR won handsomely by 50 runs. On form, they are likely to find it tough against the Kings but the fact that this game has a lot more significance for the latter also adds pressure to it. And pressure, along with the unpredictability of the T20 format, can do funny things.

When: Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings, IPL 2025, May 18 at 3.30 PM

Where: Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

What to expect: It's peak summer time and Jaipur has been scorching hot with temperatures in the 40s. This being an afternoon game means that the heat will be a factor. The surface has generally been good to bat on this season with the bowlers also getting some help at times. Expect more of the same, particularly with the curator having gotten enough time due to the break.

Head to head: RR 17-12 PBKS.

Team watch:

Rajasthan Royals

Injuries/Unavailabilities: Jofra Archer has chosen not to return for the season's final two games. A replacement hasn't been named. Sanju Samson is set to return after recovering from injury.

Tactics and matchups:

Arshdeep Singh is tied with Khaleel Ahmed for the most wickets in the first three overs of an innings in this season - 7. But Sanju Samson has a formidable record against Punjab's pace ace. The RR skipper has hit at a SR of 188.09 and has been dismissed only once by Arshdeep in the IPL.

Probable XII: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel(wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya, Fazalhaq Farooqi/Kwena Maphaka.

Punjab Kings

Injuries/Unavailabilty: The trio of Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie and Josh Inglis haven't joined back. They will be unavailable for this fixture. Mitch Owen and Xavier Bartlett have joined the squad. Kyle Jamieson has been named as replacement for Lockie Ferguson.

Tactics and matchups:

RR have been the worst fast bowling side in terms of averages in IPL 2025, and the second-most expensive after LSG. Those numbers will look even poorer excluding Archer's exploits. PBKS have been hitting at 10.25 in the PowerPlay - second only to RR themselves - and Prabhsimran Singh and Priyansh Arya will hope to lay down an early marker in the clash.

Probable XII: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Mitch Owen, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Xavier Bartlett.

Did you know?

- RR have failed to take a PowerPlay wicket in 5 of their 12 matches so far.

- Yashasvi Jaiswal has averaged 70.5 in RR's wins this year and only 35.12 in defeats, underscoring his importance to the team's fortunes.

What they said:

"I think we'll go in with a pretty similar structure, even if there's some different players that are in those roles, the way we're going to play is going to be very similar." - James Hopes

Squads:

Rajasthan Royal Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kunal Singh Rathore, Riyan Parag(c), Dhruv Jurel(w), Wanindu Hasaranga, Shimron Hetmyer, Shubham Dubey, Maheesh Theekshana, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Akash Madhwal, Sanju Samson, Tushar Deshpande, Kumar Kartikeya, Nandre Burger, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Ashok Sharma

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