Rajasthan Royals got most things right on Sunday. Skipper Sanju Samson won the toss and justified his decision to bat first with a superb 82 not out.
The move to promote Riyan Parag paid off, and the bowlers did a good job too, as Royals won by 20 runs against Lucknow Super Giants to open its Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign on a satisfactory note.
They will look to capitalise on that when they take on Delhi Capitals, which should be keen to recover from its disappointing opening fixture when the two neighbouring franchises face off on Thursday.
Punjab Kings beat Capitals by four wickets in their previous fixture after a not-so-good effort with the bat.
The batter most in focus was, of course, Rishabh Pant, who was returning to cricket after his horrific car accident in December 2022. He made only 18 and should be eager to impress against the Royals.
The Capitals, playing their second successive away match, will want its Australian openers David Warner and Mitchell Marsh to convert their starts.
The bowling – featuring the formidable spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel – is strengthened by the arrival of the South African quick Anrich Nortje.
But they are up against one of the strongest batting line-ups in the tournament. Apart from Samson, they would be facing the likes of Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel.
There is variety in the Royals bowling attack, too, with Trent Boult, R. Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal and Sandeep Sharma all in form.
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