Sanju Samson returned to lead Rajasthan Royals (RR) in their home game against Punjab Kings at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday (May 18). Samson’s previous IPL game was against Delhi Capitals on April 16, and a lot has happened in the last month.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi opened for RR in Samson’s absence in five matches and has made a seismic impact. He smashed a six off the first ball on his IPL debut against Lucknow Super Giants. He scored a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans and became the youngest centurion in the history of the Indian Premier League. There was one question lingering in everyone’s mind. Where will the youngster bat once the captain returns to the side? When toss presenter Simon Doull asked Sanju Samson about the topic at the toss, he cleared all doubts.
‘You have to respect it’
Sanju Samson said that he would be dropping to number 3 position
“I think if someone has done something extraordinary, you have to respect that no matter his age,” the RR skipper said after losing the toss.
Rajasthan Royals, IPL 2025
Rajasthan Royals’ first season in the new mega auction cycle started on a disappointing note. After reaching the playoffs twice in the previous cycle, the inaugural champions became the 2nd team to get eliminated from this season’s playoffs race. They have managed to win only 3 matches and are occupying the 9th place in the points table. Rajasthan Royals are chasing 220 against Punjab Kings.
Punjab Kings – 219/5 (20)
Punjab Kings recoverd from 34/3 in 3.1 overs to 219/5 in 20 overs, thanks to Nehal Wadhera (70 off 37) and Shashank Singh’s (59* off 30) sparkling half centuries. Captain Shreyas Iyer (35 off 30) and Afghan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai (21* off 9) provided vital support to Wadhera and Shashank, respectively.
Rajasthan Royals Playing XI vs Punjab Kings
Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (C), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Deshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Substitutes: Shubham Dubey, Yudhvir Singh, Kumar Kartikeya, Ashok Sharma, Kunal Rathore
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