While Robin Uthappa had scored a fifty in one of the games, the likes of Moeen Ali and Ambati Rayudu have failed to capitalise on their starts.
Each year, Samson has played a few match-defining knocks but this time he would have to go the extra mile if the Royals want to win that elusive second title.
Punjab Kings' batting unit hasn't hit the straps, save for Rahul and Mayank Agarwal and the bowling has been pedestrian.
If Kolkata Knight Riders beat Rajasthan Royals on Thursday, then Mumbai Indians may find it very difficult to qualify for the play-offs even if they beat Sunrisers Hyderabad in their final league match.
IMAGES from the IPL match between SunRisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals, in Hyderabad, on Monday.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devon Conway's effortless six-hitting exhibition was well complemented by a four-wicket haul from Mukesh Choudhary as Chennai Super Kings notched up an emphatic 13-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Seniors like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara came in for a lot of flak for their below-par showing with the bat, while Jasprit Bumrah also failed to live up to expectations.
It may be an inconsequential game on paper but Indian bowlers await another tough test against South Africa ahead of the T20 World Cup when the two teams meet in the final game of the three-match series in Indore on Tuesday.
New Zealand eye top spot and a first series win over South Africa.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will start as firm favourites against bottom-placed SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL match in Delhi on Tuesday.
For a team that looked at ease all along, it was their first defeat in the UAE leg -- and three from 11 matches this season -- as Delhi struggled to get going against KKR bowlers who made full use of the slow surface after opting to bowl.
Defending champions Mumbai Indians will need their famed top-order batting to fire and turn things around when they take on Punjab Kings in the IPL in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The Indian team's strategy is expected to undergo paradigm shift with some players getting a subtle yet stern message to lift their games as they face an embarrassing possibility of a clean sweep against South Africa in the third ODI, in Cape Town on Sunday.
Here's the complete list of which team bagged who, and for how much!
A lot of grey areas are yet to be addressed, but a young Indian team, with an admirable collective temperament, will start as favourites in the series-deciding fifth T20 International against South Africa, in Bengaluru, on Sunday.
While Ishan Kishan has done well so far, Ruturaj Gaikwad (23, 1) has pulled the team down with questions being raised over his technique against quality pacers and his ability to force the pace early on.
Umesh Yadav and Mohammad Siraj have been added to the squad as injury replacements but they do not figure in the World Cup-bound squad, as of now.
SunRisers Hyderabad has the biggest purse while Kolkata Knight Riders has the slimmest purse.
KL Rahul will have to show drastically improved leadership acumen when he leads India against a buoyant South African side in the second ODI on Thursday.
Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings head into the match after identical seven-wicket wins over Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad respectively.
MI are coming into the match after suffering back-to-back losses
Fresh from their clinical display against Sunrisers Hyderabad, two-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders will look to set the record straight against nemesis Mumbai Indians in their second IPL match in Chennai on Tuesday.
As the 16th edition of the glitzy Indian Premier League is set to unfold, let's take a look at the driving force of the T20 league and what's in store in this edition.
A batting line-up dotted with big power-hitters along with the best death bowlers make record five-time winners MI a formidable unit.
Captain Shubman Gill missed out on a century by 10 runs while Jalaj Saxena struck 61 not out as India 'A' dominated the proceedings on the second day of the first unofficial Test against South Africa 'A', in Thiruvananthapuram.
Mumbai Indians relied not just on international performers like Pollard or Quinton de Kock or Trent Boult, but also on the likes of uncapped duo of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav as they emerged triumphant in the 13th edition of IPL last year.
Local hero Sanju Samson struck a blistering 48-ball 91 as India A romped to a 36-run victory over South Africa A in the fifth and final unofficial ODI, helping the hosts claim the series 4-1, in Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday.
Photos from the ongoing IPL match between Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad
Collingwood 'amazed' by questions about Root's captaincy
A battle royale is in the offing as heavyweights Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals clash in a high-profile IPL encounter, in Chennai, on Tuesday.
Getting the combination right would be topmost on Sunrisers Hyderabad's to-do list when they take on a qualitatively superior Mumbai Indians in an IPL encounter in Chennai on Saturday, trying to arrest an early slide after back-to-back defeats.
The Men in Blue are on a 12-match winning streak and come Thursday, they can create an all-time record of winning 13 T20I games in a row.
Images from Day 3 of the third Test between South Africa and India, in Cape Town, on Thursday.
In case of Umesh, he bowls a fuller length, gets that lethal outswing going his way at 140 clicks but the question is, if India can afford to play a bowler, who has a propensity to bowl too many boundary balls.
India's formidably consistent match-winners have a date with history in the New Year when they take on an out-of-sorts South Africa in the second Test in Johannesburg from Monday in pursuit of a coveted first-ever series win in the Rainbow Nation.
India have a real shot at winning their first ever away series against South Africa,
But the focus will be on 19-year-old Gill, who has broken into the Indian Test squad for the three-match series against the Proteas, starting on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.
In other big movements, Punjab Kings have released their last edition's captain Mayank Agarwal, while West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran was released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The teams for both the matches are a mix of experience and youth.
Wicketkeeper Kona Bharat has showcased his skills with the gloves and bat in the several games he has played for India 'A' in the past year or so and is close to selection in the Test team.
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