Royal Sanju Samson eyeing perfect preparation to hit sixes against Chennai Super Kings

The pitches at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai have produced matches of contrasting outlooks and results. Matches have either been high-scoring ones or the team have collapsed due to assistance to bowlers with the new ball.

Rajasthan Royals have had a taste of both in their two games this season. In their first game against the Punjab Kings, it was a nightmare affair for the bowlers on both sides as batsmen ramped up scores beyond the 200-run mark.

Royals’ captain played a sublime innings that almost turned out to be a match-winning one before he failed to hit the big shots on the last two balls of the game.

He had denied a single to Chris Morris on the penultimate delivery of the game that created dividend opinions among experts and fans. Instead, he backed himself to clear the boundary and win his side a close game needing five runs off the last ball.

He failed to do that and the Royals lost a game they should have won. That game was followed by another close game but that time bowlers had an upper hand over the batsmen from either side.

Going into the third game against the Chennai Super Kings, Sanju Samson understands the pinnacle position he holds in the Royals batting line up and hence he sweated it out in the nets to better just the hard-hitting abilities.

In a video released by the franchise on its Twitter timeline, Samson can be seen hitting all balls he faced in the air and practising long shots in a bid to prepare for the game against the Super Kings.

Samson for long has been commended for his intent and abilities to hit big shots but has also faced criticism due to lack of consistency. He needs to up his consistency and the game against the Super Kings is the imperative occasion for him to do that having failed in the last game against the Capitals.

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Chennai pitches difficult but not unplayable: Mahela Jayawardene

Mumbai Indians are slated to play a couple of games more in Chennai before they fly to Delhi. The Mumbai-based franchise has played three matches so far in the competition and have etched wins in two of them which haven’t been very big scoring matches. Talking about the track in Chennai, the MI head coach Mahela Jayawardene has admitted that the pitches are difficult but not unplayable. "They are not unplayable wickets. They are good, competitive wickets. And adapting to challenges is always the key for any batsmen or any team. We have been consistent with that approach, it is challenging, but our bowlers have adapted pretty well," Jayawardene said ahead of the team's game against Delhi Capitals. MI are sitting at the third spot in the points table with a couple of wins under their belt. They suffered a defeat in the opening encounter of the tournament at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore but made a fine return to win the next two matches against Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively. MI just managed to score 150/5 in 20 overs in their last game against SRH but riding on some fine bowling performance from Trent Boult and Rahul Chahar, the Rohit Sharma-led side bundled out David Warner’s team for 137 to win the match by 13 runs. Both Boult and Chahar picked up a three-wicket haul each while Jonny Bairstow top-scored for SRH with 43 off 22. Earlier, MI managed to reach the 150-run mark, courtesy a late surge from Kieron Pollard who chipped in with an unbeaten 22-ball 35. MI will now take on Delhi Capitals on Tuesday in Chennai.

Super King Sam Curran relishing another fantastic fight against Royals after win over Punjab Kings

The Chennai Super Kings bounced back strongly after the loss in their opening game of the season against the Delhi Capitlas with a resounding win over the Punjab Kings. Their opponent in the next game— Rajasthan Royals too will be coming off an impressive win over the Delhi Capitals and Super Kings all-rounder Sam Curran is expecting another fantastic game when the two dies will meet on Monday night. He said that the CSK won their last game on the back of a complete team performance where the bowler led by Deepak Chahar bowled exceedingly well to contain Punjab Kings to 107 and followed by the batting group not allowing them to get back in the game. “Looking ahead to Rajasthan, I think it will be a fantastic game. We got a great team and win in the last game and they also won their last game as well and so, it will be another great..fantastic game,” Curran said in a video posted by the franchise on its Twitter timeline. “The game against the Punjab Kings was obviously a game where we showed how good a team we are. Deepak started off the game beautifully and the whole bowling group bowled fantastically well to restrict them to 107.” Curran spoke very highly of Chahar who started with a bang and wiped out the top order of the Punjab Kings with the wickets of Mayank Agarwal, Chris Gayle and Deepak Hooda. Chahar finished with an astounding figure of 13/4 wickets from his quota of four overs. “The second game showed why he is such a good bowler. Taking the wickets of mayank, gayle and hood as well. Fantastic four wickets for 17 runs is a great achievement. He showed some skills and hopefully, will be able to get some confidence and also give the team some confidence going into the next match against Rajasthan,” Curran added. In the last eight matches played between them, no team has held an edge over the other and won four games each. The yellow brigade was taken to the cleaner by the Royals on both the occasion they met last year and hence the Super Kings will be eager to settle the score come Monday, April 19.

Waqar Younis to travel to Australia to be with his wife

Pakistan bowling coach Waqar Younis is set to leave the tour of Zimbabwe midway and travel to Australia to be with his wife who is slated to undergo surgery. The former fast bowler who is one of the finest pacers of all time is currently in Zimbabwe with the Pakistan squad. The Men in Green is scheduled to play three T20I’s and two Tests against the African minnows starting from 21st April. The recent development was announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday afternoon during a press release. It stated that the former speedster will be leaving for Australia during the latter half of the day. As per reports in the Pakistan local media, it is learnt that the surgery is slated to take place after Ramzan. However, Waqar Younis is leaving a bit early as he has to abide by the mandatory 14-day quarantine period after reaching Australia. The recent protocol in Australia says that a 14-day quarantine period is a must for anyone coming to this country in order to curb the COVID-19 surge.

Hardik Pandya hasn't been bowling because of shoulder niggle: Mahela Jayawardene

Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene has revealed the reason as to why Hardik Pandya hasn’t been bowling during the matches. Pandya hasn’t been given the bowl due to the shoulder niggle that he picked up during the series against England at home. “…we were looking forward for him to be bowling this season… he was coming back from an injury already, but after those matches against England, the last ODI, I believe he picked up niggle, so that is something that we are nursing at the moment,” Jayawardene said during a virtual press-conference. The former Sri Lanka captain suggested that the team management wants Hardik to be fully fit to bowl. “We don’t want to risk it, because it is important that we make sure that he (Hardik) is in a position to comfortably come in and bowl,” Mahela said. The Mumbai Indians have won two out of the three matches that they have played so far and are placed at number three spot in the points table. They last defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai after defending a total of 150 runs in 20 overs. SRH started the chase in a decent manner after openers Jonny Bairstow and David Warner provided them with a steady start as the two batsmen out 67 on the board for first wicket in the 8th over. But Bairstow’s departure for 43 saw a fall of wickets at regular succession and the Hyderabad-based franchise were soon reduced to 130/7 before getting bundled out for 137 to lose the match by 13 runs. Trent Boult and Rahul Chahar picked up three wickets apiece during the course. MI will now lock horns with Delhi Capitals on Tuesday in Chennai.