After 11 overs, PBKS 102/2: Interestingly, Pooran has been held back. Hooda is in. PBKS really out to get us tonight with their thinking. Meanwhile, Rahul goes into the 40s with a straight six off Tewatia.

BIG WICKET! The move to give Riyan Parag an over pays off for Royals! The big wicket of Chris Gayle, Stokes takes a superb low catch. PBKS 89/2 after 10. Gayle out for 40 off 28 balls. Stokes is off the field after the catch though. RR will hope it is not anything serious. That round-arm delivery earlier distracted Gayle? Who knows.

Alright then Riyan Parag. That's new. Even Kedar Jadhav didn't go that low!

After 9 overs, PBKS 82/1: BIG OVERS FOR PUNJAB! Stokes on to bowl the 8th, Rahul welcomes him with a lovely lofted drive for four. Then Gayle hits his milestone six. Tewatia next over, and he puts down a return catch as Gayle gets a life. BRUTAL HIT! Really powerful, but came straight at the bowler. Goes down as a drop. The Boss finishes that over with another big six. Timeout as PBKS go on the charge. 24 runs from the last 2 overs.

Most sixes in IPL history

PLAYER Inns 6s
Chris Gayle 132 350
 AB de Villiers 157 237
 MS Dhoni 183 216
 Rohit Sharma 196 214
 Virat Kohli 185 201
iplt20

After 7 overs, PBKS 58/1: DROPPED! Ben Stokes puts a catch down after doing well to cover ground and getting to the ball from long off. KL Rahul gets a life, Shreyas Gopal the unlucky bowler. That goes for four and so does another shot from Gayle in that over. Getting a move, Punjab.

End of powerplay, PBKS 46/1: A four for Gayle over mid-on against Morris.

Chris Gayle 14 (14), KL Rahul 15 (13). We shall not talk about strike rates here.

After 5 overs, PBKS 39/1: Gayle, who likes to spend time in the middle before accelerating, hits his first four. Length ball from Fizz, muscled down the ground. Royals have kept it tight overall though.

After 4 overs PBKS 31/1: Morris starts off by conceding a four, a outside edge by Rahul that sneaks past slip and short-third. Good fielding by Vohra to prevent another boundary. Good, probing over that by Morris.

The most expensive signing in the IPL history is into the attack. Chris Morris time.

Over 2.4: WICKET! RR missed a chance to review against Mayank Agarwal but doesn’t prove too costly. Chetan Sakariya gets the wicket next over. “A dream moment for him,” says Harsha Bhogle. He is delighted, jumping for joy. Nice and full from the left-armer, Agarwal tried going over cover and his caught behind. 22/1.

After 2 overs, PBKS 21/0: Missed chance! Big appeal for LBW against Mayank as Fizz gets one on good length, good line. Looked close real time. RR don’t review and replays show... ALL THREE REDS on DRS. A life for Mayank on 7. He finishes the over with a boundary.

After 1 over, PBKS 10/0: A boundary each for Mayank (width offered, cut away) and Rahul (on the pads, glanced fine). A nervy first over for Sakariya.

A new captain, a rebranded team, plenty of debutants on both sides. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal opening. Sanju Samson dons the gloves for RR. Chetan Sakariya to start off. “One of the great stories from the domestic season,” says Harsha Bhogle. What a night for him.

7.15 pm: On more than one occasion Rahul has spoken about wanting pace in his side since last season. Well, he has certainly packed his XI with pace tonight. But it looks like Jhye Richardson will be batting at No 7. Does that mean Rahul to drop anchor again? One thought this is where Fabian Allen could be useful. Punjab continue to perplex.

Playing XIs

Rajasthan Royals: Manan Vohra, Ben Stokes, Sanju Samson, Jos Buttler, Shivam Dube, Riyan Parag, Rahul Tewatia, Chris Morris, Shreyas Gopal, Chetan Sakariya, Mustafizur Rahman

Punjab Kings: KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Deepak Hooda, Shahrukh Khan, Jhye Richardson, M Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Riley Meredith, Arshdeep Singh

Overseas players for RR: Chris Morris, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Mustafizur Rahman

Overseas players for PBKS: Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Riley Meredith, Jhye Richardson

TOSS: Sanju Samson wins the toss and Royals will be bowling first.

Pre-match

HEAD TO HEAD: Played 21, Royals: 12, Punjab: 9 (1 Super Over win)

Here’s some pre-match reading to warm you up as we wait for the toss.

06.45 pm: Hello and welcome to the live blog of match No 4 Indian Premier League 2021 season. It is an exciting match on the cards tonight with two teams going stacked with big hitters going up against each other at the Wankhede Stadium. Runs, runs, and more runs in store tonight. All eyes will be on the two captains, Sanju Samson starts his journey as Rajasthan Royals leader and on the other side, KL Rahul has plenty riding on this season of IPL while Punjab Kings (in case you missed the name change) seek their elusive first title.