IPL 2022: Sanju Samson's Top 3 innings against Sunrisers Hyderabad
Rajasthan Royals (RR) under their skipper, Sanju Samson, will hope for a swift change in fortunes this season. Their opening match is against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the MCA Stadium in Pune today (March 29).
While both sides have revamped their squads, RR looks a lot tougher this time around. With the arrival of Devdutt Padikkal, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin and Trent Boult, the Rajasthan-based franchise have gathered several match-winners. They will be eager to start their campaign with two points under their belt.
Sanju Samson's 3 best knocks against Sunrisers
Sanju Samson is a player who particularly loves playing against the Hyderabad-based franchise. The 27-year old has smashed 615 runs (his second-most against any team) in 18 innings at an average of 44 and a strike rate of almost 130 against SRH. He will look to add to his tally when he faces the Kane Williamson-led side on Tuesday.
On that note, let's take a look at the top three knocks Sanju Samson has played against SRH over the years.
#3. 48* off 32 balls in IPL 2019
He might have missed out on his half-century in the game, but Samson remained unbeaten and saw his IPL team over the line in a league game against SRH in 2019.
After being put in to bat first in Jaipur, SRH made a dominating start courtesy of David Warner and Manish Pandey, who propelled them to the 100-run mark within 12 overs. However, a middle-order collapse saw them lose six wickets inside 26 runs.
Chasing 161, RR started their innings positively as well. Samson joined the chase in the 10th over, keeping his wicket intact and the runs flowing. In his 32-ball stay, Samson smashed four boundaries and a well-timed six off Siddharth Kaul.
Samson piled up a key 55-run partnership along with former RR skipper Steven Smith. With five balls remaining, Samson smashed the winning runs off Shakib Al Hasan and registered RR's fifth win of the season.
#2. 82 off 57 balls in IPL 2021
Skipper Sanju Samson had a difficult 2021 season as many of his brilliant performances with the bat went in vain. One of those innings came against SRH in Match 40 at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai.
RR elected to bat first after winning the toss on a sticky surface. They lost their first wicket on the seventh ball of the innings, leading to Samson's arrival at the crease. Samson got together with Yashasvi Jaiswal and the duo brought some stability to RR's innings.
Excellent innings by Sanju Samson. 82 in 57 balls, set the stage for Rajasthan Royals and took them to a good score. https://t.co/kdNIPxKkug
Jaiswal was the aggressor, putting the loose deliveries away while Sanju Samson looked to milk the singles with the occasional boundary. Once Jaiswal was dismissed for 36, Samson realized he had to stay till the end to help RR reach a competitive total.
The right-hander took on the SRH pacers and clobbered as many as three maximums against them. He put up a great show, hitting seven boundaries in his sensational knock of 82 off 57 balls. Although he couldn't complete his hundred, Samson propelled his side to a fighting total of 164.
SRH, however, chased down the down the target rather easily in the end courtesy of Jason Roy and Williamson's 60 and 51*.
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#1. 102* off 55 balls in IPL 2019
Sanju Samson's second IPL ton, which was also his fastest, came against the Orange Army away from home in 2019. The game was played at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad and was the eighth game of the tournament.
After RR batted first on winning the toss, Samson came in at No. 3 and took on the SRH bowlers from the outset. The Kerala-born batter stitched together a 119-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane, which allowed them to post a competitive total of 198 runs.
Sanju Samson is now the first player to score the first hundred of 3 IPL seasons. Interestingly follows an alternate year pattern.
102 v RPS in 2017
102* v SRH in 2019
105* v PBKS in 2021 (so far)
#PBKSvRR #IPL2021
Samson raced to his fifty off 34 balls and soon tore into Bhuvneshwar Kumar, clobbering the bowler for 24 runs in the 18th over of RR’s innings. He slammed a scintillating 102* off just 55 deliveries, wacking 10 fours and four sixes during his sublime century.
Ajinkya Rahane, the then-RR captain, also performed admirably, smashing 70 off 49 balls. However, Rahane and Samson's efforts were in vain, as SRH cruised to victory in 19 overs. David Warner led the way with 69 off 37 balls, with Jonny Bairstow (45) and Vijay Shankar (35) also contributing well.