In Saturday’s second double-header, Punjab Kings will host Rajasthan Royals in the 18th match of the Indian Premier League 2025.
Blockbuster loading? 🔥🍿 pic.twitter.com/RMMiH6TeYg
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 5, 2025
Match Details:
Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals, Match 18
Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur
Date & Time: April 5th at 7:30 PM IST and Local Time
Live Telecast & Streaming: Star Sports Network and JioHotstar
What is the Pitch Report for PBKS vs RR, Indian Premier League 2025, Match 18?
Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium will host its first game of the season. The pacers will get extra zip of the surface and at the same time, the batters will get value for their shots. The average 1st innings score here in the last 5 IPL matches is 167. Teams chasing holds a 60 percent win record.
What is the Head-to-Head Record for PBKS vs RR in IPL matches?
Total Matches Played: 28
PBKS Won: 11
RR Won: 16
Recent form:
Punjab Kings: Won, Won, Lost, Won, Lost
Rajasthan Royals: Won, Lost, Lost, Lost, Won
PBKS vs RR, Indian Premier League 2025, Match 18 Probable Winners:
Punjab Kings are expected to win this match.
What is the Expected, Probable Playing XIs for PBKS vs RR, Indian Premier League 2025, Match 18?
Punjab Kings
Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Shreyas Iyer (c), Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal /Nehal Wadhera.
Rajasthan Royals
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson ( c & wk), Nitish Rana / Kumar Kartikeya, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Tushar Deshpande, Sandeep Sharma.
Tears say it all! 🥹❤️ pic.twitter.com/awhwE2FTGa
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 4, 2025
Injury Updates:
Currently, the players from both squads are doing well and fit. It will be added when there is an update.
What are the Fantasy Cricket Top Picks, Players for PBKS vs RR, Indian Premier League 2025, Match 18?
Top Pick – Batter
Shreyas Iyer couldn’t have got a better start to the Punjab Kings’ captaincy stint as his explosive innings of 97* and 52* propelled the franchise to back-to-back wins.
Top Pick – All-Rounder
Wanindu Hasaranga got Rajasthan Royals to the winning ways with his game-changing 4 for 35 against Chennai Super Kings. He has yet to make an impact with the bat.
Top Pick – Bowler
Arshdeep Singh is a wicket-taker for a reason and no wonder Punjab Kings bought him for a whopping Rs 18 crore. In two matches in the league, he bagged 5 wickets, with the best figures of 3 for 43.
Top Pick – Wicketkeeper
Sanju Samson is set to play full fledge game for the first time this season, after being cleared to keep wickets. Playing purely as a frontline batter, he made 99 runs in the last 3 innings at a strike rate of 154.68.
X-Factor:
Prabhsimran Singh smashed Lucknow Super Giants’ bowlers to all corners during his stay of 69 from 34 balls, which filled with 9 fours and 3 sixes.
𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙖𝙢𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 💪 pic.twitter.com/2gQ16ScqwU
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 5, 2025
What are the Fantasy Suggested Teams for PBKS vs RR, Indian Premier League 2025, Match 18?
1. Sanju Samson (vc), Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Priyansh Arya, Glenn Maxwell, Wanindu Hasaranga, Riyan Parag, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Maheesh Theekshana.
2. Sanju Samson, Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, Yashasvi Jaiswal (c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Nitish Rana, Wanindu Hasaranga (vc), Jofra Archer, Arshdeep Singh.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠? 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠? 😂#Shersquad, who is taller❓ pic.twitter.com/tvNMq5ft3U
— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) April 4, 2025
Pre-Match Analysis:
The revamped Punjab Kings, who are chasing an elusive IPL title made a grand announcement to the season with commanding wins over Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants. Shreyas Iyer’s led side sealed the deal in the high-scoring encounter against Titans by 11 runs while hammering Super Giants easily by 8 wickets in the follow-up. Iyer, who lost the BCCI central contract last season, has been in red-hot form in domestic cricket and also at the highest level over the last few months. He has charged up in the IPL 2025, with back-to-back unbeaten half-centuries (97* and 52*).
Kings are the most settled batting outfit in the league having Prabhsimran Singh, Priyansh Arya, Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, and Glenn Maxwell in their ranks. Seasoned pacer, Arshdeep Singh is their best bowler, bagging 5 wickets across 2 matches. They will be playing for the first time at home and will aim to extend their winning streak.
Inaugural champions, Rajasthan Royals feel they didn’t make a great start to the IPL 2025 campaign having managed a solitary win from 3 games. After going down easily at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, they sought comfort in their 3rd outing, beating 5-time champions Chennai Super Kings by 6 runs. Nitish Rana’s maiden IPL half-century for the franchise (81 from 36 balls) was highlighted in their batting as they cruised to 182 for 9 in 20 overs. Wanindu Hasaranga’s dream spell (4 for 35) and exceptional execution of bowling at the death by others earned them valuable points on the table.
Sanju Samson, who played only as a batter in the first 3 games will be back to the captaincy duties after he has been cleared to keep wickets by BCCI Centre of Excellence.
