Sanju Samson vs Rashid Khan in IPL 2023
Sanju Samson vs Rashid Khan in IPL 2023. Image Credits: Twitter

Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach, Kumar Sangakkara has praised Sanju Samson for his blistering knock against Gujarat Titans (GT), as RR beat defending champions by three wickets with four balls to spare.

While, Sanju’s innings of 60 (32) helped the former champions to chase down the target of 178 runs, as he came to the crease when the team score was 4/2 in the 3rd over.

Mohammad Shami dismissed RR opener Jos Buttler
Mohammad Shami dismissed RR opener, Jos Buttler. Image Credits: Twitter

Sangakkara thinks Sanju Samson hitting 3 sixes in Rashid Khan over changed the game-

“Not just you got us through the powerplay, but that Rashid Khan over and then how you kicked in from there, that was the game changer,” Sangakkara said to Sanju Samson at the post-match team meeting.

In the 13th over, Samson hammered GT’s ace spinner Rashid Khan for three consecutive sixes to shift the momentum towards the Royals, before the start of his over, RR was struggling at 66/4 and 113 runs were needed off 48 balls. The No.1 T20I bowler in the ICC rankings has conceded 20 runs in one over.

“Their best bowler, some say the best T20 spinner in the world, was completely caught off guard. It just goes to show that when you are in the game, anything is possible.

“Whether it is Rashid Khan, Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan, It doesn’t matter when we’re in the game. We play the ball, not the man,” he further added.

The star Afghanistani leggie who came for his 2nd spell in the 13th over of the game had already dismissed two batters to register a figure of 2/7 in his first two overs. Later, Samson took attack on him in the 3rd over–and then Shimron Hetmyer took him for 13 runs in the 18th over. Khan ended his spell on 2/46 in four overs.

So far in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, RR has won four games in five matches it played this season, with the last match victory against GT.

For the sixth game of the season, the Sanju Samson-led side will take on the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on April 19.

Also read: “The Platform Was Set By Sanju Samson, On The Basis Of That, Shimron Hetmyer Got The Chance…” – Pragyan Ojha