Premium

Punjab Kings Playing XI: Rashid, Ellis give more meat to Punjab’s bowling

Punjab Kings, currently 7th on the IPL points table, will be counting on heavy contributions from their top order in their bid to catch up with the top half in the second half of the season.

Punjab Kings are at 7th spot in the points table (File Photo/IPL)

Punjab Kings have Adil Rashid and Nathan Ellis to call on to reinforce their iffy bowling attack as they begin their second phase of the IPL 2021 season with their match against Rajasthan Royals on Tuesday.

Barring pace spearhead Mohammed Shami, the seventh-placed Punjab often lost their matches earlier this year because of their bowlers’ profligacy. Australia’s Ellis, who became the first cricketer to take a hat-trick on his debut in a T20I recently, can be expected to partner Shami, while Rashid provides a second wrist spin option to Punjab other than Ravi Bishnoi.

The other problem that Punjab had in the first half of the season was in the top-heavy nature of their batting line-up. Captain KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Chris Gayle were among the runs, but contributions from the middle and lower order were few. South Africa’s Aiden Markram, their third new addition, can also be called upon to reinforce this side of their team combination.

#Rajasthan Royals, who now sit in fifth place, will be hoping Liam Livingstone can provide them the knockout punch they sometimes lacked earlier this year. #IPL #PBKSvsRR https://t.co/HS0qjKyVMc

— Express Sports (@IExpressSports) September 21, 2021

Now sitting at 7th place in the IPL table, Punjab will be counting on heavy contributions from their top three batsmen if they are to catch up with the top half of the table.

When the two franchises met in India during the first half, Punjab managed to pull off a narrow 4-run win in a high-scoring edge-of-the-seat thriller. Despite a hundred from RR skipper Sanju Samson, Rajasthan finished on the losing side.

Probable Playing XI — KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Deepak Hooda, Nicholas Pooran, Shahrukh Khan, Adil Rashid, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Mohammed Shami

Get latest updates on IPL 2024 from IPL Points Table to Teams, Schedule, Most Runs and Most Wickets along with live score updates for all matches. Also get Sports news and more cricket updates.