Trent Boult to be back for Rajasthan Royals in must-win game: RR's predicted XI vs PBKS in IPL 2023

Trent Boult is expected to return as RR take on PBKS in their final IPL 2023 league fixture. Here is their predicted XI.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) will take on the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the IPL 2023 at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association stadium in Dharamsala on May 19. RR got battered by RCB in their last game and their chances of making the playoffs took a big hit too. RR need to beat PBKS in their final game and hope that other results go their way in order to have any chance of making the playoffs but their chances are slim as they don’t have their destiny in their own hands.

Trent Boult in action for RR. (AP)

The Sanju Samson-led side have won six and lost seven games this season. They are currently sixth in the points table with twelve points after thirteen games.

Earlier in the season, RR dominated their first game of the season against SRH but lost their second game to PBKS. The Royals then bounced back to beat DC, CSK and GT. RR thereafter lost to LSG and RCB. RR then beat CSK in Jaipur. But lost to MI, GT and SRH before beating KKR in a dominant fashion in Kolkata. But in their last game against RCB, it went horribly wrong as they were on the wrong end of a 112-run battering. The bowlers did well to restrict RCB to 171 but the batters just capitulated under the pressure from the RCB bowlers and RR were all-out for 59 runs. The third-lowest total in IPL history.

Jos Buttler has scored 392 runs so far in thirteen innings. Hetmyer has scored 254 runs so far and has played the finisher role really well this season for RR. Jaiswal is the current top run-getter for the team with 575 runs and skipper Samson has chipped in with 360 runs so far.

Dhruv Jurel and Ashwin have also contributed well to the team's batting performances lower down the order. Devdutt Padikkal has also scored 210 runs this season but has had a disappointing campaign overall. Riyan Parag has been in poor form this season and as a result, has been in and out of the team. Joe Root is expected to continue in the side in the next few games.

As for the bowlers. Chahal has scalped 21 wickets at an economy of eight, Ashwin has picked up 14 wickets at an economy of seven and Boult has picked up twelve wickets so far. Sandeep Sharma has picked up 10 wickets and Jason Holder has also chipped in with a few important scalps, though he has leaked runs on a few occasions. Zampa also has 7 wickets this season.

KM Asif is expected to continue in the side while Boult is expected to return in place of Zampa.

RR’s predicted XI vs PBKS:

Openers: Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Middle order: Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson (c) (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Devdutt Padikkal, Joe Root.

All-rounders: Ravichandran Ashwin.

Bowlers: Yuzvendra Chahal, Trent Boult, Sandeep Sharma, KM Asif.

Impact Player: Riyan Parag, M Ashwin or Kuldeep Sen are RR’s Impact Player options.