The fourth match of the Indian T20 League 2021 will see heavy spenders Rajasthan and Punjab facing each other in a mouth-watering clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, April 12.
Both the teams had failed to qualify for the playoffs last season and consequently went for a huge revamp at the auction in February.
Team Rajasthan decided to part ways with captain Steve Smith after a dismal season, thereby making young Sanju Samson the captain, while Team Punjab made headlines by offloading Glenn Maxwell.
With stars like Chris Morris and Tom Curran joining Rajasthan for the new season and Jhye Richardson and Dawid Malan coming to Punjab, Monday is expected to be a star-studded affair.
Quite interestingly, while Team Rajasthan leads Punjab in the overall head-to-head, it is the latter who has emerged as the more successful team at the Wankhede Stadium.
| Rajasthan vs Punjab head-to-head record | ||
| Rajasthan | Metrics | Punjab |
| 21 | Matches | 21 |
| 12 | Wins | 9 |
| 57.14% | Win Percentage | 42.86% |
| Record in Mumbai | ||
| Rajasthan | Metrics | Punjab |
| 8 | Matches | 11 |
| 4 | Wins | 5 |
| 50% | Win Percentage | 45.45% |
The match on Monday will undoubtedly be a clash of the batsmen with KL Rahul leading Punjab's batting line-up and Ben Stokes leading Rajasthan's line-up. Rajasthan have averaged 163.2 in the first innings of their last five matches, while Punjab have averaged 173 in the same.
With Wankhede seeing an average of 170 in its last five innings, both the teams will have a real chance of winning the match thereby making toss an important factor, something where Punjab haven't had much luck of late.
| Coin Toss and H2H last 5 matches | ||
| Rajasthan | Metrics | Punjab |
| 5 | Tosses Won | 0 |
| 3 | Matches Won | 2 |
| 60% | Win Percentage | 40% |
Rajasthan will be banking on their new captain Sanju Samson to lead from the front against Punjab. The top-order batsman has garnered 512 runs against Punjab so far, with two fifties to his name. He is followed by England's Jos Buttler who has tallied 361 runs against Punjab with an astounding four half-centuries to his name.
Punjab, on the other hand, will hope their opening pair of KL Rahul and Chris Gayle to work their magic against Rajasthan. While Gayle has 499 runs against Rajasthan with three fifties, Rahul has 390 runs against the opponent with four half-centuries.
Rajasthan might have hit the jackpot by shelling out for Chris Morris, given the bowling all-rounder's record against Punjab. Morris has 13 wickets against Punjab in 11 matches.
Punjab, on the other hand, will have to rely on Mohammad Shami with the ball as the pacer has seven wickets against Rajasthan.
Feature Image Courtesy: AFP/ Sajjad Hussain
