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The Punjab Kings (PBKS) posted a formidable 222/4 at the end of their 20 overs against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in New Chandigarh. Prabhsimran Singh and Marcus Stoinis starred with the bat as the hosts dominated the RR bowling attack.
PBKS got off to a flying start, scoring 65 runs in the powerplay. The opening pair continued their impressive form before Priyansh Arya was dismissed by Jofra Archer for 29 off just 11 balls, providing RR with a much-needed breakthrough.
Prabhsimran Singh, however, maintained the momentum with a well-crafted 59 off 44 balls, including six fours and a six. The PBKS opener was eventually dismissed by RR leg-spinner Yash Raj Punia while attempting to accelerate the scoring rate.
PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer kept the tempo high with a quickfire 30, continuing his fine run of form and guiding the team to a strong total.
The standout performance came from Marcus Stoinis, who played a blistering knock of 62 off just 22 balls, providing a powerful finish to the innings. His innings featured four boundaries and six towering sixes.
For RR, Yash Raj Punia was the most successful bowler, finishing with figures of 2/41. Jofra Archer and Nandre Burger picked up a wicket each.
Earlier, after winning the toss, RR captain Riyan Parag opted to bowl first and confirmed two changes to the playing XI, with Ravi Bishnoi and Shimron Hetmyer being left out.
“We’ll be bowling first. It looks like a good wicket, but there was some cloud cover and a brief shower, so there might be a bit of moisture early on. We’ll look to exploit that, pick up early wickets, and hopefully chase it down,” Parag said.
Confirmed Playing XI for both teams:
Rajasthan Royals (Playing XI): Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel(w), Riyan Parag(c), Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Brijesh Sharma, Yash Raj Punja
Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer(c), Cooper Connolly, Suryansh Shedge, Nehal Wadhera, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal
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