“Hardik ke glove mein diamond”

Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson was seen sharing light moments with Mumbai Indians (MI) players ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash. The two sides will face off in the 50th match of the season on Thursday, May 1, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

A day before the match, on April 30, RR’s official X account shared a video of Sanju Samson having fun with MI stars Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav, along with RR teammate Riyan Parag. While holding Hardik’s glove in his hand, Sanju said in the video:

“Bhai dekho diamond laga hua hai yaar. Ye diamond laga hua hai yaar, dekho diamond hai glove mai, pehli baar dekh raha hu yaar, diamond! Nahi yaar. Ab yeh viral hogaya, Hardik ke glove mein diamond.” [Bro, look, there’s a diamond on it! There’s actually a diamond on the glove, man. I’m seeing this for the first time—a diamond! No way. Now this is going viral: there’s a diamond on Hardik’s glove!]

The two teams have experienced vastly different seasons so far. Mumbai are in red-hot form, riding on a five-match winning streak and currently occupying third place on the points table with 12 points from 10 games. The Royals, on the other hand, have struggled for consistency and find themselves in eighth place with just six points from as many matches.

When it comes to their head-to-head record in the IPL, the rivalry has been closely contested. Out of 30 encounters, Mumbai have won 15 and Rajasthan have claimed 14 victories, with one match seeing no result.

“Sometimes these side strains can be a bit tricky” – Rahul Dravid shares latest update on Sanju Samson’s fitness

Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid provided a key update on Sanju Samson’s fitness ahead of their IPL 2025 fixture against the Mumbai Indians. The 52-year-old confirmed that Samson is recovering well but emphasized that the team won’t rush his return to the field.

The wicketkeeper-batter sustained a side strain during their match against Delhi Capitals (DC), which forced him to retire hurt. He has since missed the Royals’ last three games. Addressing a question from PTI, Dravid provided an update on Samson’s condition, saying:

“Sanju is recovering well but we just have to take it day-by-day. It’s a side-strain and sometimes these side strains can be a bit tricky and we don’t want to harm him in the long run. We are monitoring it on a daily basis and we will see how it pulls up. Every day we get reports whether he is available or not so we’ll take it day-by-day and see how he goes but he is very well looked after.”

So far this season, Samson has played seven innings, accumulating 224 runs, with one half-century to his name.