IPL 2021: KL Rahul wins toss, opts to bowl; Evin Lewis makes debut for RR, three debutants for PBKS

Punjab Kings won the toss and chose to bowl first against Rajasthan Royals in Match No 32 of the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Skipper KL Rahul talking about his decision said that bowling first was a no-brainer given it was a fresh wicket with grass on and they didn’t really know how it will play, which is why they preferred chasing.

Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson said that they are good at both chasing and setting totals so he wasn’t really unhappy with the toss and was happy to bat first.

Both teams made some significant changes as the Universe Boss ‘Chris Gayle’ wasn’t in the playing XI on his birthday as Punjab Kings handed debuts to three players – Aiden Markram, Adil Rashid, and Ishan Porel – while Arshdeep Singh came into the side in place of Ravi Bishnoi.

Rajasthan Royals too handed a debut to West Indies opening batsman Evin Lewis, while Liam Livingstone will return to RR playing XI after two years.

Playing XIs

Punjab Kings:  KL Rahul (w/c), Mayank Agarwal, Aiden Markram, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Fabian Allen, Harpreet Brar, Adil Rashid, Ishan Porel, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh

Rajasthan Royals: Evin Lewis, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson(w/c), Liam Livingstone, Mahipal Lomror, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Chetan Sakariya, Kartik Tyagi, Mustafizur Rahman

A look at the Playing XI for #PBKSvRR

Follow the game here – https://t.co/odSnFtwBAF #PBKSvRR #VIVOIPL https://t.co/5dELKgsyhU pic.twitter.com/YUfq6p3r96

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) September 21, 2021