"Sanju Samson's wicket against Hardik Pandya was the turning point"- Aakash Chopra on IPL 2022 final
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra was a bit disappointed with Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson's performance with the bat in the IPL 2022 season.
Although the 27-year-old didn't look out of form, having scored 458 runs from 17 games, he converted just two of his starts into the fifties.
Chopra feels Samson's wicket in the IPL 2022 final off the bowling of Hardik Pandya was a big moment in the game.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Chopra explained how RR could have won the title had Samson batted for longer in the final. He said:
"Sanju Samson has to step up. He got a lot of starts but failed to convert them into a big score. Even in the final, his wicket against Hardik Pandya was a turning point. They needed 150 and if Sanju had been there, they would have made it easily."
Umran malik's pace wasn't enough to bully Sanju Samson .
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"Sanju Samson was absolutely impeccable as a captain"- Aakash Chopra
Although Samson was inconsistent as a batter, Chopra was highly impressed with his captaincy. According to the 44-year-old, RR had a great bowling attack, and Samson was able to rotate his bowlers beautifully.
Chopra specifically hailed Samson for his use of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal. The Purple Cap winner picked 27 wickets, and Chopra reckons a lot of credit for the same goes to the RR skipper. He stated:
"Sanju Samson was absolutely impeccable as a captain. He used his bowlers beautifully. Although he lost tosses, he was still able to defend scores that weren't too big.
"Yuzi Chahal picked so many wickets, but some got to Samson because he bowled him in the death overs. He gave him the fields, he asked him to attack and didn't look angry even went things weren't going their way."
RR have a few holes to fill, particularly in the lower middle order. If they manage to do that, they will be one of the favorites to win the title next season.