Players to watch
Sanju Samson's half-century on Sunday stood out for two reasons - an ability to strike cleanly and a lack of fear, evident in the way he smacked L Balaji over the leg side off just the sixth ball of his innings. As India's highest run-getter at the recent Under-19 World Cup held in the UAE, he also brought in his experience of local conditions into play.
Ishwar Pandey has been on the fringes of the India team for the last couple of seasons and found himself in the same position on the Pune Warriors bench last year, as he played just two games in a long campaign. He found his rhythm immediately on debut for Super Kings and will hope for a longer run in the tournament this year.
Stats & Trivia
- Before his half-century against Kings XI Punjab, Shane Watson's last T20 fifty came during the IPL in May last year
- Royals have won five out of 13 IPL matches between the two sides
- With 19 fifties and one hundred, Suresh Raina shares the record for the most fifty-plus scores in the IPL (20) with Chris Gayle and Gautam Gambhir. He also has the record for most catches in the league (55)
Rachna Shetty is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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