Rajasthan Royals

"It will be slightly on the slower side. There could be dew around. Feels good [to lead for the 200th time]. The crowd was fantastic. The new stadium is like playing in Switzerland. We have seen cricket change. Feels good to have survived for so long and it's a format we have to keep evolving. Important to get rid of mistakes in the later stages," Dhoni said at the toss.

Yashasvi Jaiswal showed his full range of shots by hitting Khaleel Ahmed for five fours to be 20/0 in the opening over. With the ball, Trent Boult took out impact player Prithvi Shaw and Manish Pandey on back-to-back balls to leave Delhi at 0/2 in their opening over. That set the tone for Rajasthan's 57-run victory over Delhi and propelled them to go on top of the ten-team points table. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler smashed half-centuries in a rollicking 98-run opening partnership, including slamming 14 boundaries in the first six overs.

"I cut my finger in the last game, but we've got a good doctor here with a few stitches and I actually felt fine to play. It's obviously nice to wear (orange cap). Just glad to start the season well and get up and running. I think we've got a decent score on the board. It's obviously a really good batting wicket with a fast outfield so we'll have to bowl well to defend this," Buttler said in a mid-innings chat with the broadcasters.

Chasing 198 against Punjab Kings in Guwahati, Royals were reduced to 91/4 in 11 overs. The equation then went down to 77 runs needed off 36 deliveries. Hetmyer, coming out to bat at number seven, took Royals close with his 18-ball 36 blitz, though he fell in the final over as the 2008 IPL champions fell short by five runs.

Chasing a huge 198-run target, the Royals had managed 57 in the powerplay, although they lost three wickets while doing so. Sanju stood tall and took the attack to the opposition in his style and played a crucial 42-run knock off 25 balls. "Yes I think it's very important in games like this, where the momentum shifts away from you. We started off really well, we finished the powerplay really well. I think in the middle (overs) we were expecting us to get those boundaries here and there.

The experts panel at Star Sports feels that Virat Kohli and Ruturaj Gaikwad - who are the frontrunners in the Orange Cap race - might actually end up winning it by the end of yet another exciting season. They also said that Rajasthan Royals star spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and Gujarat Titans' talisman Rashid Khan are primed to win the Purple Cap, awarded to the most successful bowler at the end of the tournament.

RR started the chase with a strange batting line-up as Ravichandran Ashwin came in to open with Yashasvi Jaiswal as Buttler went off the field immediately after taking the catch in the last over. Jaiswal started with an impressive six over square leg. In the next over, Arshdeep Singh struck to dismiss the in-form Jaiswal for 11 and Buttler came in to bat.

With his unbeaten 85 off 56 balls, Shikhar Dhawan completed his 50th 50-plus score in his IPL career. He now has 48 half-centuries and two tons, while Jason Holder was the pick of the bowlers for PBKS, picking up two wickets after conceding 29 runs in his four-over quota.

Both teams will take the field with no changes in their line-ups. After winning the toss, RR captain Sanju Samson said that some dew is expected and will look to use the opportunity to bowl first. "The players have gotten used to the conditions. We are going in with the same side," Samson said.

"Sanju Samson is a young player, but he's not a youngster in terms of the experience he's had. He's leading the side from the front. He led the Royals really well last year and the team made it to the final. He'll take the confidence from the campaign last season. He's powerful and takes the game head-on. If he keeps doing that, I think, RR will keep doing well in this season as well." Smith said on Star Sports, the official TV broadcaster of the league.