RR vs CSK: Earlier Jamie Overton was the top score for Chennai Super Kings with his 36-ball 43 against Rajasthan Royals in match 3 of the Indian Premier League on Monday
IPL 2026: With Dhoni out injured, India wicket-keeper Sanju Samson is likely to make his franchise debut while taking over the mantle behind the stumps.
Riyan Parag's Rajasthan Royals will take on Ruturaj Gaikwad's Chennai Super Kings in match 3 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati on Monday.
Samson eventually made the switch from Rajasthan Royals – where he was a franchise icon – to CSK before the auction for this upcoming season, and Ruturaj revealed that it was a long process to finalise the move.
Of the 177 games in the IPL, Samson has opened the batting only 31 times, averaging a sub-par 26.1 with a middling 137.36 strike rate. But if his chilling reinvention in the World Cup is anything to go by, the Kerala batter has glimpsed the possibilities of his best versions at the top.
As AR Rahman’s concert began after the cricketing part of the night, the 'Mozart of Madras' started by saying “Sanju, this is for you” and played the popular Malayalam verse at the start of the Dil Se / Uyire chartbuster Jiya Jale / Nenjile, to the roar of the fans at Chepauk.
Samson left Rajasthan Royals with a long list of accolades. was Rajasthan Royals' most successful captain in the IPL. In fact, in 2024, he shot past the legendary Shane Warne's record of leading the Rajasthan Royals in the most number of matches.
Faf du Plessis said: "If I look at the IPL and the teams, the iconic teams we see around the league, all of them have one marquee Indian player in common, someone who has been the face of the franchise for a period of time: Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli. And Sanju Samson, for me, was that guy at Rajasthan Royals"
IPL 2026: Sanju Samson is touted to play a central figure in the top-order while also taking over the mantle of the wicket-keeping gloves from the legendary MS Dhoni.
Sanju Samson's sensational hundred on his captaincy debut went in vain as young pacer Arshdeep Singh held his nerve in the final over to help Punjab Kings pull off a thrilling four-run win over Rajasthan Royals in a high-scoring IPL game.
Big-hitting Punjab Kings hunt down 210 to beat Chennai Super Kings by 5 wickets
Sports13 min ago
Punjab Kings knocked down a target of 210 with eight balls to spare to beat the Chennai Super Kings by five wickets in the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) at the Chepauk Stadium. It was CSK's sixth consecutive defeat at home and they have now lost their first two games of the season. Conversely, PBKS have started the 2026 season with two victories.
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