Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson scored a brilliant hundred on his captaincy debut against Punjab Kings on Monday but his knock wasn't enough to guide Rajasthan Royals past the finish line. Samson, who scored 119 off 63 deliveries, was in sublime touch at the Wankhede Stadium as he took Punjab bowlers to the cleaners.
Hitting 7 sixes and 12 boundaries, Samson became the first man to hit a hundred on captaincy debut in the IPL. The skipper's knock, however, was not enough as the Kings survived the scare and sealed a four-run win.
Samson was joined by Chris Morris in the middle when the Royals needed 13 runs in the last over bowled by Arshdeep Singh. Samson hit a six in the 4th ball of the over and brought the equation down to 5 from 2 balls. However, he denied the strike to Morris on the penultimate delivery.
Royals needed five off the final delivery when Samson was caught by Deepak Hooda in an attempt to clear the cover boundary. While some fans have questioned Samson's decision to not give the strike to Morris, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels the Royals skipper did the right thing.
In an exclusive chat with India TV, Manjrekar backed Samson's decision to deny strike to Morris in the last over. "Given Chris Morris' track record, the South African doesn't fire in pressure situations.
"Samson, on the other hand, was booming with confidence. Chances of Samson hitting a six were certainly greater than that of Morris. Samson was playing once-in-a-lifetime knock and his decision to deny Morris the strike was absolutely correct," said the cricketer-turned-commentator.
"Point to note...Samson came into bat in the first over and was there till the last ball of the innings. He came of age tonight I thought. First hundred in a run chase too. Let’s hope he can keep his form through the length of the IPL," Manjrekar had tweeted on Samson's knock.
Rajasthan Royals will now take on Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals in their second IPL 2021 game on Thursday.
