Mullanpur, April 6 -- Ahead of the first home match for Punjab Kings (PBKS) against Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mullanpur, the talk was about runs not coming from Yashasvi Jaiswal's bat in this Indian Premier League (IPL). RR skipper Sanju Samson had backed Jaiswal in the pre-match media briefing, saying that he is batting well in the nets and he knew that when the youngster performs, he will be winning the games.

On Saturday, the RR opener ended his lean patch and top-scored with a 45-ball 67 (3x4, 5x6) that also laid to rest criticism. Though his fifty was the slowest half century in IPL (off 40 balls), his form left RR on a high as they scored 205/4 batting first. He along with Samson stitched an...