Win-hungry Kings XI challenge Rajasthan Royals

Cape Town:

A thrilling encounter is on the cards with the tactful Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals challenging win-hungry Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League match here on Sunday.

The Rajasthan Royals pulled off a win via 'Super Over' in a nerve-wrecking tie against the Kolkata Knight Riders, putting behind their two successive losses to emphasise that they are in a serious business to defend their title in the eight-team tournament.

Warne fulfilled its promise to hit back strongly after it had collapsed to the lowest IPL total of 58 runs in their opening match while their second match had been washed off by rains.

The Jaipur brigade would now try their best to build on their success and improve the run rate to fire up their title defence instead of slipping below the fourth position from here on.

With all-rounder Yusuf Pathan coming of age and rookie pacer Kamran Khan living up to Warne's expectation, Rajasthan have also showed they were not anymore missing services of their inaugural edition heroes Shane Watson and Sohail Tanvir, who are missing the tournament for various reasons.

Kings XI Punjab, also with just a single win in their pocket, would require to be extra cautious as they bump into Rajasthan Royals, who would be again waiting to surprise his opposition by flinging yet another surprise after baffling Kolkata Knight Riders in their previous match.

Punjab skipper Yuvraj Singh, on his part, would rely on another stint of apt execution of plan, especially by his bowlers to tame the Rajasthan Royals by causing their yet another batting fiasco.

"We experimented with the bowling, shuffled it around and it worked in the end. We bowled and batted well and stuck to our plans. I'm happy with the result," Yuvraj had said after their seven-wicket win over Royal challengers Bangalore on Friday.

Riding on the heroics of their new revelations young England batsman Ravi Bopara, who hammered a match winning knock of 85 runs, and bowler Yusuf Abdullah besides the presence of the likes of Jacques Kallis in their ranks, the Preity Zinta-owned team would hope to climb the rungs on team standing table, where they are languishing at lowly sixth among eight contenders.

Besides, Yuvraj Singh and Co would also be praying that rain may not play a spoilsport as they bid to continue with their winning ways.