Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) opening batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and skipper Sanju Samson got off to a great start in match number 18 of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl at the Mullanpur Stadium. If PBKS wins the game, they will win their third game of the season and join Delhi Capitals at the top of the table.
Arshdeep Singh gave 10 runs in the first of the over, which saw Sanju Samson play a spending shot for a boundary. At the end of three overs, RR were placed at 21 for no loss before RR batters began to open up. Marco Jansen was smashed for 19 runs in the fourth over of the game as Jaiswal hit two huge sixes in successive balls.
By the end of the power play overs, RR had reached 53 for no loss as Jaiswal and Samson didn’t look troubled. Both batters ran well between the wickets and put away the bad balls for boundaries. For the first time in two games, it looked like Shreyas Iyer and his side were troubled. Sanju Samson was out against the run of play after scoring 38 runs when he was dismissed by Lockie Ferguson in the 11th over.
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Shreyas Iyer and his side came into their first home game of the season on the back of two away wins. PBKS had beaten Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants in the last two games. RR, on the other hand, welcomed Samson back as the skipper after the 30-year-old was given his fitness clearance.
Speaking at the toss, Iyer said, “ Looking at the last game, we were playing on a new wicket and we want to see how the pitch plays. Same mindset here as well. We need to stabilise the rhythm from game one and that's happened. Important to steady the ship from here; the boys are in high spirits. Need to maintain composure and calmness throughout the season.”
Tushar Deshpande missed the game as Yudhvir Singh Charak came into the XI. RR skipper Sanju Samson said, “Pretty happy to bat first and put on a decent total. I could feel what the coaches would be going through, a bit restless and helpless. But excited to be back now. It is a new team and team management; we have got to know each other now and it takes a bit of time. We are gelling better now; last game we pretty much had the perfect game.”
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