RR vs PBKS Toss Update: Shreyas Iyer hands IPL debut to young Aussie, Sanju Samson replaces Jofra Archer with South African teenager

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bat first on May 18 at Sawai Mansingh stadium against Rajasthan Royals (RR). Iyer handed debut cap to Australia's 23-year-old batting order Mitchell Owen.

Punjab Kings will be looking to continue their momentum in the 16th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 on Thursday, May 18 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Kings will be aiming for another win after defeating Bangalore in the last match.

Ahead of the clash, the captains of both sides, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson, made interesting announcements about their respective teams’ playing XI.

Iyer revealed that he has decided to hand a debut cap to Australia's 23-year-old batting order Mitchell Owen.

"We are going to bat first. The wicket looks fantastic, know how it plays here. The powerhouse has been our batting, so got to make the best use of it. Everyone is in high spirits. The mindset has been strong. Trying to make the best use of the sources. Kudos to the Army forces. Mitch Owen, Jansen, Omarzai are playing," Iyer said.

On the other hand, Samson had to make two changes in the side as Nitish Rana sustained an injury while Jofra Archer is still not fully recovered from his injury.

The wicketkeeper-batsman announced that he will be replacing Rana with Sanju Samson and England's Archer with South Africa's young left-arm pacer Kwena Maphaka. Samson also revealed that he will bat at no.3 and Vaibhav Suryavanshi will continue to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.

"I would have liked to bowl first after how the pitch behaved in the last game against RCB. Let's see how it plays out today. I am okay, hundred percent fit. I would love to respect where he is batting. He has played well for us. I will bat down the order, I come in for Nitish Rana. Maphaka comes in for Jofra Archer," Samson said.

RR Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi

RR Impact Subs: Kumar Kartikeya, Shubham Dubey, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Singh Rathore, Yudhvir Singh Charak

PBKS Playing XI:

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh(w), Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

PBKS Impact Subs: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Harpreet Brar, Praveen Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Musheer Khan

RR vs PBKS head-to-head

RR have dominated PBKS as far as head-to-head is concerned. Out of 29 clashes between the two, PBKS have won 17.

In their previous clash, RR had beaten PBKS by 50 runs in Mullanpur.