RR vs PBKS: Sanju Samson Demoted to No. 3 & Mitchell Owen makes IPL -debut – Inside Sport India

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS) will finally offer some cricket action for fans after a long 10-day gorge! The resumption of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 came yesterday, but the RCB vs KKR game was completely washed away, with the defending champion eliminated. Now get ready for the RR vs PBKS collision, where Sanju Samson returns after more than a month.

Sanju Samson degrades itself to No. 3

Sanju Samson, who has had a Topsy-Turvy campaign, is plagued by injuries. He initially played as an impact sub because of his finger break. Then a belly injury stopped another stop, with Samson missing more games. This handed Vaibhav Suryavanshi a chance for the top order. The 14-year-old talent bat a historic 35-ball 100 in one of the IPL 2025 collisions against GT.

Samson forced this to relegate itself at number three, with Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal planned to open. Fascinating Samson has a great record at number three. He is most experienced on one down, after he has beaten 92 innings and collected 3,035 runs at 38.42 and with a success rate of 143.63.

New debutant Mitchell Owen for PBKS

With the Aussie trio of Marcus Stoinis, Aaron Hardie and Josh Inglis not available, PBK’s handed a debut to explosive Australian all-rounder Mitchell Owen. The Big Bash Breakout star has had a dream 2024/25 season, with 452 runs with a stunning rate of 203.60. His inclusion reinforces an already aggressive batting unit, in particular against RR’s struggling pace attack. He is planned to save the order and can do damage when he is on songs.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) Play XI

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (W), Shreyas Iyer (C), Shasank Singh, Nehal Wadhera, Mitchell Owen, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdep Singh, Yuzavhal

Probably impact sub: Vijaykumar Vyshak/Harpreet Brar

Rajasthan Royals (RR) Play XI

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson (W/C), Riyan Parag, Shimron Hetmyer, Dhruv Jurel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Kwena Maphaka, Tushar Dshpande, Akash Madhwal, Fazalhaha Faroaki

Probably impact sub: Kunal Rathore/Shubham Dubey