Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson did a world of good for his chances ahead of the T20 World Cup team selection by hammering a 33-ball unbeaten 71 and overshadowing a similar effort by Lucknow Super Giants captain KL Rahul (76 off 48 balls). Rajasthan Royals, one of the most in-form teams in this IPL, romped to a seven-wicket victory on Saturday, with Samson leading his troops from the front. The battle for wicket-keepers at the T20 World Cup 2024 squad selection remains one of the most intense, and Samson proved why he deserves to be No. 1 in that pecking order.
Samson, who struck his fourth half-century of IPL 2024 off 28 balls, shared an unbeaten 121-run partnership with Dhruv Jurel, who scored his maiden IPL half-century as Rajasthan Royals cruised to 199/3 in 19 overs in response to Lucknow Super Giants’ 196/5 made possible by Rahuls superb innings and his 115-run partnership with Deepak Hooda (50).
Samson, who had scores of 82*, 69, 68* before Saturday’s superb knock, blasted seven boundaries and four sixes in another brilliant innings to help Rajasthan Royals recover from two quick wickets and with help from Jurel, who scored 52 not out off 34 balls, raised 121 runs for the fourth wicket partnership to guide RR to a comfortable victory at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
With this win, table toppers Rajasthan Royals moved up to 16 points from eight wins from nine matches, opening up a big six-point gap at the top of the table. LSG remained in fourth position with 10 points, the same as Kolkata Knight Riders (2nd), Sunrisers Hyderabad (3rd) and Delhi Capitals (5th). They have played nine matches while KKR and SRH have played eight matches each. DC are through with 10 matches so far.
Best Sanju Samson celebration ever. pic.twitter.com/AfHH2PI68u
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 27, 2024
After the game, Samson said at the post-match presentation ceremony: “I am very lucky to be behind the wickets. There was some purchase with the new ball and then was a good wicket to bat on. The guys who came in and bowl one over in the power-play do an important job. There has been a lot of planning behind the scenes. The start and the end of the innings was good.
“We gave away a few in the middle overs. Form is temporary in this format. We have seen Jurel in Tests. We believe in him. He has been batting one hour and two hours at times in the nets. We have been doing really well. We have been a little lucky as well. We need to keep the process right. At the team meetings, we talk about ticking the processes. One game at a time for us.”
With IANS inputs
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