Rajasthan Royals vs. Kings XI Punjab, IPL: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV, Preview

The Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab face each other for the second time in the 2015 Indian Premier League.

The Royals have won five straight games and top the table, while Kings XI are outside the playoffs having won just once.

Venue: Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

Date: Tuesday, April 21

Start time: 8 p.m. local time, 3:30 p.m. BST

Live on: Sony Six and Set Max (India), IMG (Caribbean), PCCW (Hong Kong), Maasranga TV (Bangladesh), Sky NZ (New Zealand), Sky Sports (UK), EMTV (Papua New Guinea), Measat (Malaysia), OSN Network (Middle East), StarHub (Singapore), Super Sports (Sub-Saharan Africa), Geo Super (Pakistan), Carlton Sports Network (Sri Lanka), Sportsnet (Canada), Willow TV (USA).

Weather: According to Weather.com, Ahmedabad promises to be very warm and sunny, with temperatures set to peak at 45 degrees Celsius.

Overview

Rajasthan come into this game on the back of another victory in this year’s IPL, this time at the expense of the Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets.

The Super Kings made 156 batting first, and in response it was an easy ride for the Royals as they overhauled their target for the loss of just two wickets.

Openers Shane Watson and Ajinkya Rahane both passed 70 to lead Rajasthan to the brink of the win, in what was Watson’s first appearance of the 2015 IPL.

Meanwhile, Kings XI Punjab lost last time out to the Kolkata Knight Riders by four wickets to taste defeat for the third time this season.

Kings XI batted first and made 155-9 from their 20 overs, led by 60 from captain George Bailey and 33 from Glenn Maxwell.

However, they were unable to defend their total, with Andre Russell leading Kolkata home with 66.

In the game between these two teams earlier this year, Rajasthan won by 26 runs, with James Faulkner leading their bowlers with three wickets.

Team News

Rajasthan Royals (from): Shane Watson (capt), Ankit Sharma, Brainder Sran, Rajat Bhatia, Stuart Binny, Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Deepak Hooda, Dhawal Kulkarni, Vikramjeet Malik, Chris Morris, Karun Nair, Abhishek Nayar, Ajinkya Rahane, Pardeep Sahu, Dinesh Salunkhe, Sanju Samson, Steven Smith, Tim Southee, Pravin Tambe, Rahul Tewatia, Rusty Theron, Sagar Trivedi, Dishant Yagnik.
 
Kings XI Punjab (from): George Bailey (capt), Axar Patel, Anureet Singh, Beuran Hendricks, David Miller, Glenn Maxwell, Gurkeerat Mann Singh, Karanveer Singh, Manan Vohra, Mitchell Johnson, Parvinder Awana, Rishi Dhawan, Sandeep Sharma, Shardul Thakur, Shaun Marsh, Shivam Sharma, Thisara Perera, Virender Sehwag, Wriddhiman Saha (W), Murali Vijay, Nikhil Naik, Yogesh Golwalkar.

Key Players

Shane Watson

On his first appearance in the 2015 IPL, Rajasthan captain Shane Watson showed he is in good touch with 73 against the Chennai Super Kings.

A key part of the lineup as an opening batsman, Watson will be determined to take that form into this game.

George Bailey

Punjab captain George Bailey has been in superb form with the bat in recent games, and will need to continue as such if his side are to be successful.

Kings XI are currently outside the playoff spots, and will need their captain to fire if they want to make progress up the table.