As Rajasthan Royals gears up for its must-win Indian Premier League fixture against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, Sanju Samson remains a doubtful starter.
The Royals captain underwent scans after experiencing a bit of pain in the abdominal area during its previous game against Delhi Capitals, and the team is awaiting scan results. “Once we get a bit more clarity around the scans and the severity (of the injury) we’ll make a decision going forward and we’ll see what happens,” Royals’ head coach Rahul Dravid said.
If Sanju fails to recover in time, it will be a huge blow for the Royals, who are struggling in the points table with just two wins from seven outings. With multiple changes in the order and inconsistent performances by the top batters – Sanju, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel – the Royals batting unit has failed to fire this season.
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Though Yashasvi Jaiswal seems to be slowly finding his mojo with two successive fifties, Parag – following a 573-run season last year – has failed to live up to the expectations.
The Royals’ misery, however, does not end here. Barring Jofra Archer, who has picked up five wickets in the PowerPlay, the rest of their bowlers have struggled. Coach Dravid agreed the team needs to work on its execution with the ball in the death overs.
For Lucknow Super Giants, Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran have been the standout batters, and on a slow Sawai Mansingh Stadium surface, it would be interesting to see how they approach their innings.
Despite its defeat against Chennai Super Kings, captain Rishabh Pant returned to form with a fifty and he will be hoping to build on that. While suspense prevails over the availability of pacer Mayank Yadav, LSG will be hoping spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi provides breakthroughs.
Even though Royals have won four of its five games against LSG, it will be a challenge for the struggling home team to keep the records intact.
