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IPL 2025: Can Rajasthan Royals spoil Punjab Kings' playoff chances?
17 May 2025

Match 59 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 will see a clash between the Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on May 18.

The Royals have had a dismal season as they have managed just three wins from 12 games.

They hence are also out of the playoff race. Meanwhile, the Kings are having their best season in a decade, winning seven out of 11 matches.

Here we look at the match preview.

Pitch conditions and streaming details
Game conditions

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur is famous for its balanced T20 pitch, offering an exciting contest between bat and ball.

However, in afternoon matches, the track cracks more, favoring spinners.

RR have lost three of their four games at this venue in IPL 2025.

Fans can watch the game live on the Star Sports Network and stream the same on the JioHotstar app and website (3:30pm IST).

RR's inconsistent performance and PBKS' stellar show
Journey

RR have struggled across all departments this season, resulting in one heavy defeat after another.

Although they have been knocked out of playoff race, they will be eager to spoil other teams' chances.

However, they would be without their lead pacer, Jofra Archer, for the rest of the season.

Meanwhile, the Kings have been powered by their top-order batters.

Skipper Shreyas Iyer has also rotated the bowlers well as the team is on track to qualify for playoffs.

Head-to-head record favors Royals
Historical clash

In terms of head-to-head records, the Rajasthan Royals hold an edge over the Punjab Kings.

Out of 29 matches played between these two teams, RR have emerged victorious in 17 encounters while PBKS prevailed 12 times.

The last match between these two teams was played on April 5 this year, where RR secured a win.

Notably, the Royals have won five of their six games against PBKS in Jaipur.

Here are the probable XIs
XIs

RR (Probable XI): Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Riyan Parag (c), Kunal Singh Rathore, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shubham Dubey, Wanindu Hasaranga, Nandre Burger, Maheesh Theekshana, Kwena Maphaka, Akash Madhwal. Impact player: Tushar Deshpande.

PBKS (Probable XI): Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Aaron Hardie, Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh. Impact sub: Vijaykumar Vyshak.

Here are the key performers
Stats

Yashasvi Jaiswal has been on a roll for RR this season, having mustered 473 runs at a strike rate of 154.57.

Riyan Parag follows him with 337 runs, striking at 170.58.

SL spinners Maheesh Theekshana and Wanindu Hasaranga have taken 11 and 10 wickets, respectively, for the Royals in IPL 2025.

PBKS stars Prabhsimran Singh, Shreyas Iyer, and Priyansh Arya have hammered 400-plus runs each this season.

Arshdeep Singh has scalped 16 wickets for the Kings (ER: 8).

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