3 player battles to watch out for in RR vs PBKS, Match 65 of IPL 2024 ft. Sanju Samson vs Sam Curran

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will be heading to Guwahati to host their final two IPL 2024 league games, the first of which will be played against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Wednesday, May 15. While Punjab have been knocked out of the playoff race, RR do have a lot to play for.

Sanju Samson and his men have been on a three-match losing streak and another loss could potentially take their destiny out of their hands when it came to trying to finish in the top two positions with the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) hot on their heels.

PBKS are rock bottom in the points table, but their recent encounters against the Royals have been absolute humdingers. Both teams will need their big players to step up in a game that promises to be yet another close encounter.

On that note, let's take a look at the three match-ups that could prove to be crucial in deciding the course of the game:

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#3 Shashank Singh vs Yuzvendra Chahal

Shashank Singh is enjoying a breakout season in IPL 2024 as he got consistent opportunities and PBKS and made them count sensationally. Beginning the season as a finisher, Shashank has eventually settled at No. 4 with a staggering 352 runs from 12 games at an incredible strike rate of 168.42.

The all-rounder has shown his ability to attack spinners from the get-go and that will make his encounter with Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs an interesting one.

Chahal hasn't had the best of games of late, but one cannot undermine the quality of the veteran spinner. He is an intelligent bowler and might already have some plans in place against Shashank.

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#2 Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Arshdeep Singh

Apart from a sensational hundred against the Mumbai Indians, Yashasvi Jaiswal hasn't quite lived up to the expectations, especially coming into the IPL 2024 season on the back of an incredible Test series against England with the bat.

With Jos Buttler having returned to England for national duty, it seems even more crucial for Jaiswal to take up more responsibility and get the big runs for the Royals. The southpaw has shown vulnerability against the moving ball upfront and that perhaps explains his negative match-up against Arshdeep Singh.

The left-arm pacer has conceded 26 runs in the 20 balls he has bowled to Jaiswal, dismissing the batter twice. The batter will need to come up with a game plan to not just counter Arshdeep's threat but also dominate the PBKS bowling.

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#1 Sanju Samson vs Sam Curran

The battle between the two captains Sanju Samson and Sam Curran could be the biggest face-off of the game in Guwahati. Just like Jaiswal, even Samson will have a greater responsibility to score big for RR in Buttler's absence.

The RR captain is enjoying his most prolific IPL season with 486 runs from 12 games at a sensational strike rate of 158.31 with five half-centuries to show for his consistency. However, he hasn't had the best of times facing Curran and that could be the area PBKS may want to exploit.

Sam Curran has given away 20 runs in 15 balls bowled to Samson in T20 cricket and has dismissed the latter twice. The England all-rounder will want to finish his season on a high before heading back home just like Buttler did.