IPL 2021: Rajasthan Royals win toss, opt to bowl first against Punjab Kings

An exciting contest is on the cards as both the keeper-captains will battle it out on a pitch that will aid pace and bounce early. The red soil helps bowlers in extracting something extra off the wicket. However, the strip still is a batting paradise as was witnessed in the last game of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Capitals (DC).

Mumbai:Sanju Samson's Rajasthan Royals (RR) won the toss and elected to field first against KL Rahul's Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the fourth match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) here at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

An exciting contest is on the cards as both the keeper-captains will battle it out on a pitch that will aid pace and bounce early. The red soil helps bowlers in extracting something extra off the wicket. However, the strip still is a batting paradise as was witnessed in the last game of Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Capitals (DC).

While RR has changed their captain, handing it to Sanju Samson from Steve Smith, the Punjab Kings, earlier known as Kings XI Punjab, opted for a name change this season to turn their fortunes.

In the Punjab camp, three players -- Shahrukh Khan, Riley Meredith and Jhye Richardson will make their debut whereas, in Rajasthan's squad, Mustafizur Rahman and Shivam Dube will be donning RR's jersey for the first time in the IPL.

At the toss, Rahul said he is content with the squad and looks forward to a good show in the run-up to the tournament.

"We all know the history of Wankhede. Everyone wants to bowl first. But we would want to play good cricket. We can't really pinpoint anything particular. It is about the batting group helping the bowling group and vice versa. We were really happy with the auctions. Meredith, Richardson, Gayle and Pooran are our foreign players," the Punjab skipper said.

On the other hand, the newly-elected captain Sanju Samson said, "We are going to bowl first. We have challenges to face while picking the XI. But I am happy with the players we have. Morris, Stokes, Buttler, Mustafizur are out overseas players. Very excited about the role."

Teams:

Punjab Kings: KL Rahul(w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, Murugan Ashwin, Riley Meredith, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Rajasthan Royals: Jos Buttler(w), Manan Vohra, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson(c), Riyan Parag, Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman