Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coverage of the IPL 2022 match between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings from the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Sandeep is back into the attack. Jaiswal slams the first ball for four.

RR 95/2 in 10 overs: Liam Livingstone comes into the attack. 6 runs off it including a wide. No boundaries.

RR 89/2 in 9 overs: GONE! Samson has perished. Holes out to Dhawan for 23. Dhawan with the breakthrough. Padikkal joins Jaiswal. What an excellent over. 4 runs and a wicket.

RR 85/1 in 8 overs: Rahul Chahar into the attack. Jaiswal ends the over with a maximum over deep extra cover. 11 off Chahar’s first and RR are cruising.

TIME OUT!

RR 74/1 in 7 overs:Samson welcomes Rishi Dhawan into the attack with an effortless drive for four. Three singles off the remaining five balls. 7 runs from the over in the end.

RR 67/1 in 6 overs: Arshdeep Singh into the attack. Sanju Samson drives handsomely through extra cover for a single. Samson collects two back-to-back fours; first a chop through third man and second to deep backward point. 11 off it. End of PowerPlay. This is now RR’s highest PowerPlay total this season.

RR 56/1 in 5 overs: Sanju Samson walks in at No. 3. He gets off the mark with a thick outside edge for four. Jaiswal plays a majestic drive over Sandeep Sharma’s head for four. 10 off the over. Rajasthan Royals need 134 runs in 90 balls

RR 46/1 in 4 overs: SIX! There it is – in the slot from Rabada and Buttler clears his front leg and slams it over midwicket for six. Now he goes the other side; hits it to the deep extra cover fence. A hat-trick of boundaries as he collects a four to fine leg now. Buttler picks a couple off the fourth ball. Buttler is laying into Rabada in this over – clears his front leg again and smacks it down the ground for four. Buttler is caught off the last ball! Big wicket. 20 runs and a wicket. Buttler goes for 16-ball 30.

RR 26/0 in 3 overs: Sandeep continues. Just one run off the first three balls. Buttler then punishes a length ball by scything it through deep extra for four. No swing on offer. 1 to finish. 6 off the over.

RR 20/0 in 2 overs: Kagiso Rabada comes into the attack. Buttler takes a single to extra cover. Jaisal pinches a single next ball. Buttler makes room by shuffling outside off and laps a full ball over fine leg for four. 6 off the over.

RR 14/0 in 1 over: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler to open the batting. Sandeep Sharma has the new ball. Jaiswal on strike. He flays a cut through backward point for four before pulling the next ball for six. He ends the over with a boundary. 14 off it.

START OF CHASE

PUNJAB KINGS 189/5 IN 20 OVERS

PBKS 189/5 in 20 overs: Sen to bowl the final over. Yorker to start with and a precious dot ball. SIX! Full-toss on the pads and Jitesh flicks it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. Short and Jitesh gets an outside edge and gets it over mid-off for four runs. FOUR! More agony for Sen! FOUR! Full this time and Jitesh carves this over the covers for a boundary. Two singles to end the innings. 16 runs off the final over.

PBKS 173/5 in 19 overs: Prasidh continues. Shuffles across his stumps, Prasidh responds by pitching it wide outside his arc, beyond the tram-line but not called a wide. Similar move by Livingstone next ball, Prasidh goes too far outside off this time and this is called wide. SIX! Livingstone punishes this full delivery by sending it over the long-off boundary. Yorker outside off next ball and Livingstone doesn’t get his bat down in time. FOUR! Audacious from Livingstone, who moves across almost outside the pitch, and slaps this short one over short fine-leg for four runs. That also brings up the 50-run stand in 30 balls. OUT! Yorker and bowled him. Livingstone shuffles across his stumps and misses this yorker trying to work it on leg-side. Liam Livingstone b Prasidh Krishna 22(15b 1×4 2×6) FOUR! Full-toss outside off and Rishi Dhawan pulls it to the mid-wicket boundary.

PBKS 158/4 in 18 overs: SIX! Loose one by Chahal, full outside leg-stump, and Jitesh sweeps this over deep square leg for a maximum. That brings up the 150 in 17.1 overs. Jitesh steps out and thumps it over the bowler for a single. Low full-toss on leg stump and Livingstone flicks to long-on for one. Pitched outside leg again, but this one turned in sharply and beat Jitesh’s wild heave on the legs-side. This one is too far outside off and wide called. Jitesh steps out, makes room outside off and drives to long-off for one more. Livingstone ends the over with another single.

PBKS 147/4 in 17 overs: Prasidh has the ball. He has two remaining for the death over. He starts off with a wide outside off, angling across to Jitesh from around the wicket. Full, closer to off stump, and Jitesh swings big but only gets a single off the inside edge. One more for Livingstone next ball. Jitesh slashes hard outside off for a single at deep cover. Low full-toss outside off and steered to deep point for one by Livingstone. But the buzzer goes off and a free-hit will follow. FOUR! A mis-hit from Jitesh as he shuffles across his stumps and slices it over the covers for a boundary. FOUR! Jitesh goes downtown this time and finds the long-off boundary. Single to deep point to end the over.

PBKS 132/4 in 16 overs: Ashwin returns with the ball. Dot and a single to start the over. Ashwin is keeping it tight on a length on and around off stump. Jitesh swipes hard outside off for a couple. SIX! Livingstone steps out and muscles this down the ground to end the over with a maximum and undo the good work done by Ashwin in the over.

PBKS 122/4 in 15 overs: Chahal turns it away outside leg-stump, past Mayank’s face of the bat and wide called. Mayank hangs back a touch to guide this to point for a dot ball. OUT! Mayank holes out at long-on as he looks to clear the rope off this tossed up delivery on leg-stump. Mayank Agarwal c Jos Buttler b Yuzvendra Chahal 15(13b 2×4 0x6). Jitesh starts off with a single. Loud appeal for LBW and given out. Bairstow came down the wicket and missed the fullish delivery on leg-stump. He reviews it immediately. Just clipping leg-stump and the umpire’s decision is upheld. Jonny Bairstow lbw b Yuzvendra Chahal 56(40b 8×4 1×6). Two wide balls from Chahal – one outside off and one outside leg. Dot and single to end the over. Livingstone is off the mark.

PBKS 117/2 in 14 overs: Boult bowls out. Bairstow misses the pull first ball. FOUR! Full outside off and driven with ease over the covers and to the boundary. Slow and short next ball and Bairstow hammers it down to mid-wicket for a single. Mayank drives down the ground for one more. Another single for Bairstow as he backs outside leg-stump and cuts to point. Agarwal keeps strike with another single.

PBKS 109/2 in 13 overs: Sen starts off with a length ball on middle and leg and Mayank misses trying to tuck it behind. Another straight length ball on this one is flicked by Mayank for a single at mid-wicket. Good bouncer to Bairstow and he does well to get his head out of the way. Clipped off his legs for a single and that’s a 34-ball fifty for Bairstow. Two more singles to end the over.

PBKS 105/2 in 12 overs: Bairstow flicks this length ball on off stump to mid-wicket for a single. FOUR! Tossed up on middle stump and Mayank presses forward to extra cover-drive this beautifully for a boundary. FOUR! Length ball outside off, Agarwal gets low and cuts this behind point for another boundary. Two singles follow. Turning in and Mayank pushes this off the backfoot for a single at long-on.

PBKS 93/2 in 11 overs: One leg-bye to Bairstow to start Chahal’s over as he misses the sweep. OUT! Rajapaksa steps down the track and misses this leg-stump delivery that disturbs the stumps behind. One leg-bye for Mayank as he comes to the crease and looks to flick this one to fine-leg. Three singles to end the over. The last goes off the bottom-edge as Bairstow looks to cut it past point.

PBKS 88/1 in 10 overs: FOUR! Rajapaksa gets an edge over the keeper and fine-leg for four runs. FOUR! This is full outside off and Rajapaksa flicks it to the mid-wicket boundary. Three singles to follow. Bairstow pulls the last one to deep square leg for one more.

PBKS 76/1 in 9 overs: Sen returns with the ball. Length ball on the pads and Rajapaksa gets it flush on his pads as he misses the flick. SIX! Rajapaksa comes down the track and lofts this over the covers for a maximum. Sen changes angles – comes around the wicket – and beats Rajapaksa’s swipe outside off. Caressed through the covers for a single next ball. Beaten! Pace on delivery tight on off stump, yorker length, and Bairstow misses. FOUR! Cut behind point by Bairstow for a boundary.

PBKS 64/1 in 8 overs: Ashwin continues. Width and room outside off but Bairstow cuts it straight to point. FOUR! Bairstow gets down and reverse-sweeps this behind point for a boundary. Bairstow moves to 36 – his highest score in this season so far. Angling in on the pads to Rajapaksa and he tucks it for a single. One more for Bairstow as he clips a full delivery off his toes. Another single to end the over.

PBKS 56/1 in 7 overs: Chahal into the attack. SIX! Full on off-stump and Rajapaksa shimmies down the wicket and launches this over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. Full one on the pads this time and tucked behind square for a single. Bairstow pushes to point for one more. Rajapaksa taps on the off-side for a dot to end the over.

PBKS 48/1 in 6 overs: Ashwin strays down leg-side for a wide. OUT! Stunner from Jos! Dhawan chips it over the mid-off but Buttler leaps up after backpeddling and clings on to a stunning one-handed catch. Shikhar Dhawan c Jos Buttler b Ravichandran Ashwin 12(16b 2×4 0x6). Rajapaksa is in next. Defends the first one back to the bowler before driving through the covers for a single. Beaten! Bairstow looks to carve this behind point but misses. Loud appeal LBW as Bairstow misses the sweep. Samson reviews but the ball was missing leg-stump.

PBKS 46/0 in 5 overs: Boult into his third over. Length ball, angling in on off, and Dhawan tucks it on leg-side for one. FOUR! Thick bottom edge on the pull outside off for Bairstow and it misses the stumps before running away behind the keeper. He inside edges the next one for a single at point. FOUR! Dhawan pulls this from outside off to the boundary behind square leg. Single and a wide to follow. SIX! Bairstow strikes this clean, pulling it over mid-wicket for half a dozen.

PBKS 28/0 in 4 overs: Kuldeep Sen into the attack. Full one on off stump and Bairstow pushes to mid-off for a quick single. Wide down leg-side to Dhawan next ball. Dhawan misses the flick on this length delivery on leg-stump and a stifled LBW appeal follows. Length ball just outside off, angling across and cut by Dhawan to point for a single. FOUR! Bairstow hammers this hard into the ground and it bounces over backward point before going to the boundary. FOUR! Another length ball around off stump and Bairstow biffs it to the mid-wicket fence. Cut behind point for a dot to end the over.

PBKS 17/0 in 3 overs: Boult continues. Beaten! Dhawan shimmies down the track looking to flay this outside off delivery but misses it completely. Length ball in the channel and Dhawan is beaten again looking to cut it square of the wicket. Two more dots to follow. Dhawan defends to cover before patting one to point. Four dot balls in a row. Fulller this time on off stump, Dhawan makes a bit of room on the off-side to and ends up steering it just short of point. Beaten again looking to charge down the track. Maiden over.

PBKS 17/0 in 2 overs: Prasidh to Dhawan from the other end. One leg-bye to start with as the ball goes off the pads to point. FOUR! Outside edge and four past the slips as Dhawan looks to cut this length ball outside off. Dot and single to end the over.

PBKS 10/0 in 1 over: FOUR! Gift on the pads by Boult to Bairstow and he flicks it through mid-wicket for a first-ball boundary. The shorter boundary is to the right-hander’s leg-side from this end. Two more fuller balls on the pads but Bairstow clips them to fielders inside the ring. Boult comes around the stumps. FOUR! Length ball angling down leg and Bairstow tucks it off his pads and behind the keeper for four more. A couple more off the inside edge and it runs away past the wicketkeeper. Dot to end. 10 runs off the first over.

15-28 IST: The players are out on the field and live action will begin shortly. Bairstow and Dhawan will open the innings for Punjab Kings and Mayank Agarwal has once again put himself down the order. Boult with the ball.

PUNJAB KINGS AT WANKHEDE STADIUM (IPL 2022)

Beat Chennai Super Kings by 11 runs

Lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets

RAJASTHAN ROYALS AT WANKHEDE STADIUM (IPL 2022)

Lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets

Beat Delhi Capitals by 15 runs

Beat Lucknow Super Giants by three runs

Lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by four wickets

RR VS PBKS PLAYING XI

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler, Devdutt Padikkal, Sanju Samson (c) (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Prasidh Krishna, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Sen.

Punjab Kings: Jonny Bairstow, Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal (c), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Liam Livingstone, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Rishi Dhawan, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Arshdeep Singh, Sandeep Sharma.

TOSS: Punjab Kings has won the toss and elected to bat first. Punjab Kings is unchanged while Rajasthan Royals has one change – with Yashasvi Jaiswal coming in for Karun Nair.

PITCH REPORT: The boundaries are skewed – 72m and 61m square of the wicket. Ian Bishop reckons it will be a high scoring affair at the Wankhede Stadium today. There is a bit of grass and some dry patches so there should be something in the pitch for both pacers and spinners.

MATCH PREVIEW

Just two points separate Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings. The two sides come face to face in what promises to be a fascinating IPL encounter at the Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.

Royals is placed third in the table with 12 points while Kings is seventh with 10. Both sides need a win to brighten their chances of qualifying for the playoffs, with Kings needing it a little more, even though Royals lost its last two matches.

WATCH – Sangakkara on RR’s performance slump

The Kings registered an eight-wicket victory against leader Gujarat Titans in their last match. After the bowlers, led by Kagiso Rabada, reduced Titans to 143, Shikhar Dhawan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Liam Livingstone chase down the target with ease. The only blip was the failure of Jonny Bairstow, who was promoted to open the innings with captain Mayank Agarwal dropping himself down the order. The Englishman hasn’t really fired yet this season.

IPL POINTS TABLE

Another Englishman, Jos Buttler, has been firing on all cylinders, though. Buttler is, in fact, the main reason behind Royals’ success thus far this season. With 588 runs, 137 more than his nearest rival, the orange cap is sitting firmly on his head. But the Royals need big contributions from others as well, including skipper Sanju Samson.

The purple cap is also with the Royals at the moment, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal leading the wickets tally with 19 wickets. Chahal needs to get his rhythm back as he has taken just two wickets in his last four matches. There is more to the Royals attack, however, in the shape of Prasidh Krishna, Trent Boult and R. Ashwin.

PBKS VS RR FULL SQUADS

WHERE AND WHEN TO WATCH PUNJAB KINGS and RAJASTHAN ROYALS IPL 2022 LIVE?