Cricket News: IPL Preview - RR vs KXIP

IPL's inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals open their IPL 2019 campaign against Kings XI Punjab at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur and the match will be played in some time. Buoyed by the comeback of Steve Smith, Rajasthan Royals captained by Ajinkya Rahane will be up against Ravichandran Ashwin-led Kings XI Punjab who finished seventh last season. GFX OUT Rajasthan Royals, who made a comeback to the IPL following a two-year suspension, made it to the IPL 2018 playoffs courtesy Jos Buttler. GFX IN The England wicketkeeper-batsman was in prolific form last season as he accumulated 548 runs from 13 matches at an average of 54.80 with a strike-rate of 155.24, ending up as the sixth highest run-getter. Captain Rahane made 370 runs from 14 matches at an average of 28.46. Jaydev Unadkat was once again bought by the Royals this season for Rs 8.4 crore. There will be added pressure on the Saurashtra fast bowler to deliver this season. On the other hand, the 2014 runners-up Kings XI Punjab made a big splash in the auction by buying Varun Chakravarthy, an unknown cricketer from Tamil Nadu, for Rs 8.4 crore.