The 30th match of the DLF IPL will see the Rajasthan Royals play the Kings XI Punjab at Kingsmead in Durban. The Royals are currently at seven points from seven matches, where as the Kings have managed to win four matches out of seven to be at the third spot with eight.
 
The Royals (6/5 at Ladbrokes to win match) won their previous game against the Deccan Chargers (4/5 at 888Sports) after losing three of the top-order batsmen for ducks. It was, however, a balanced batting performance by Abhishek Raut (14/1 at Bet365 to be top Royals batsman) and Yusuf Pathan’s bludgeoning bat that took the Royals home.
 
Pathan (9/2 at William Hill to be top Royals batsman) will need to continue to deliver, but the issue with betting on him to be the top Rajasthan batsman is that his captain likes to hold him back till the 14th or the 15th over, thus allowing only a few deliveries for him. Again, Warne is not a textbook captain, and is not dictated by any rules, which makes it difficult to predict the next position Pathan may bat in.
 
Graeme Smith (7/2 at Coral to be top Royals batsman) is going through a surprisingly long bad patch and that has put the pressure back on the Royals. Rob Quiney (9/2 at Boylesports to be top Royals batsman) could replace him as the opener, but Quiney himself hasn’t done too well in the tournament yet.
 
Ravindra Jadeja (6/1 at Coral to be top Royals batsman) is one who has looked threatening in the last couple of matches without really exploding. His selection to the Indians side for the ICC World T20 will take the pressure off his shoulders and allow him to perform much better.
 
The Kings are heavily reliant on their bowling to restrict the opponents; with the likes of Yusuf Abdullah (4/1 at Stan James to be most economical), Irfan Pathan and even the rotund figure of Ramesh Powar (4/1 at Stan James to be most economical), making reasonable contributions in reducing the opposition totals. It is their batsmen, who have been a trifle up and down in the last few games.
 
Yuvraj Singh (7/2 at Ladbrokes to be top Kings batsman) opened the inning in one of the games, did reasonably well, but then dropped himself down in favour of a virtual greenhorn in S.Sohal (6/1 at Ladbrokes to be top Kings batsman). Simon Katich (4/1 at Stan James to be top Kings batsman) was a part of the team in the previous encounter, but one isn’t sure whether he has a role as an opener in this batting order that already consists of players of the same breed as him; Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene.
 
Sangakkara (4/1 at Coral to be top Kings batsman) had begun the tournament well, but hasn’t had a great couple of games, while Jayawardene (6/1 at Bluesq to be top Kings batsman) seems to be slowly finding his touch. James Hopes has not yet joined the team, as the series against Pakistan is still on, but he should soon be here to prop up the middle order – or the opening slot depending on where he bats.
 
 
Favourite: Rajasthan Royals, 6/5 at Ladbrokes
Top Punjab Batsman: Yuvraj Singh, 7/2 at Ladbrokes
Top Rajasthan batsman: Ravindra Jadeja, 6/1 at Coral