All eyes on Jaiswal as Royals face Punjab Kings

An out-of-sorts Yashasvi Jaiswal would want his on-field exploits to make headlines rather than his off-field decisions as Rajasthan Royals, led by regular skipper Sanju Samson, will aim to keep a marauding Punjab Kings batting lineup in check in their IPL clash in Mullanpur on Saturday.

Jaiswal, Indian batting's heir apparent to Virat Kohli, recently made news for switching from Mumbai to Goa reportedly due to differences and ego clashes with an ageing, out-of-favour India star in his state team.

The stylish left-hander has also looked scratchy in his three knocks with scores of 1, 29 and 4 and is expected to shoulder a lot more responsibility in this line-up where Samson does most of the heavy-lifting.

One reason for Jaiswal's poor form could be the lack of game time since his ODI debut against England in February, after which he was dropped from the Indian Champions Trophy squad.

It also remains unclear how Jaiswal has taken Rajasthan Royals' decision to appoint Riyan Parag as the stand-in skipper, despite the Assamese all-rounder not even being close to him in terms of sheer cricketing quality.

That Jaiswal is desperate for bigger leadership role in national and IPL set-up has become an open secret after his Goa switch but every move will prove to be counter-productive if he doesn't get back among runs quickly. In IPL universe, the form can turn from bad to worse in no time.

Also in the three matches that Riyan led the side, no one exactly saw any special leadership spark which would make him stand out despite his relative inexperience.

While Royals under an inexperienced Riyan didn't look convincing even as they managed to beat an equally out-of-sorts Chennai Super Kings, the victory will certainly keep them in good stead against a Punjab side which is being led well by a seasoned Shreyas Iyer.

For the Royals' bowling attack, the challenge will be tough against Punjab, whose skipper has been leading from the front with back-to-back half-centuries, both knocks in which he stamped his authority over the opposition.

His batting has been top-notch, with noticeable improvement in his power-hitting. One statistic underscores this transformation -- while he hit 13 sixes in 16 games during IPL 2024, he has already matched that tally in just two matches this season.

To top that, his strategic moves have been top notch, whether the field placements in the Powerplay like keeping a deep extra cover for Nicholas Pooran first-up or stationing a fielder at '45' for Rishabh Pant, who loves the slog pull behind the square.

His use of bowlers has also been impressive as Glenn Maxwell, the spinner has been fabulous in both games, at times looked even better than one of league's greatest spinners Yuzvendra Chahal.

For the Royals, it will be a match where they need to out bat the opposition factoring in that their bowling resources aren't exactly intimidating for any opposition.

An attack comprising Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Sandeep Sharma, Wanindu Hasaranga and Tushar Deshpande is decent on most days and good on some. It is not a great attack and hence it will be very important for them to get a cushion of runs, preferably over and above 210 in order to put pressure on opposition.

Samson's return to leadership is a welcome boost, given his experience and ability to handle pressure. However, for Rajasthan Royals to thrive, Jaiswal and Dhruv Jurel must find form together, while the burly Shimron Hetmyer's power-hitting at the death could prove crucial.

Squads

Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer (c), Priyansh Arya, Pyla Avinash, Harnoor Singh, Josh Inglis, Prabhsimran Singh, Vishnu Vinod, Nehal Wadhera, Azmatullah Omarzai, Aaron Hardie, Marco Jansen, Glenn Maxwell, Musheer Khan, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Suryansh Shedge, Arshdeep Singh, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, Praveen Dubey, Lockie Ferguson, Harpreet Brar, Kuldeep Sen, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yash Thakur.

Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson (captain), Riyan Parag, Shubham Dubey, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kunal Rathore, Shimron Hetmyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Rana, Yudhvir Singh, Jofra Archer, Maheesh Theekshana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Akash Madhwal, Kumar Kartikeya Singh, Tushar Deshpande, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Kwena Maphaka, Ashok Sharma, Sandeep Sharma.

Match starts at: 7:30 pm.