Sanju Samson smashes his 20th fifty-plus score for RR (IPL)
What's the story
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson has slammed his 21st half-century in the Indian Premier League (IPL). The Indian batter reached the mark in RR's opening encounter against Lucknow Super Giants at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. Samson added 93 runs along with Riyan Parag after RR were reduced to 49/2. The Royals, who elected to bat, compiled 193 in 20 overs. Samson returned unbeaten.
Knock
A splendid knock from Samson
Skipper Samson came to the middle after RR lost opener Jos Buttler for 13 runs on the board. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who smashed a 12-ball 24, also departed inside the Powerplay. Samson then paired up with Riyan, taking the Royals past 140. The former slammed a 52-ball 82*, a knock laced with 3 fours and 6 sixes. He couldn't get much strike at the death.
Information
Samson starts with a bang!
Samson is known to start his IPL campaign with a bang. A look at his scores in the season's first games since 2020: 74(32) vs CSK (2020), 119(63) vs PK (2021), 55(27) vs SRH (2022), 55(32) vs SRH (2023), and 50*(33) vs LSG (2024).
Information
Seventh instance of Samson scoring six maximums in a match
As mentioned, Samson hammered six maximums in the match. As per Bharath Seervi, he has slammed six-plus sixes in an IPL innings the joint fourth-most times (7) with Shane Watson. They are only behind Chris Gayle (22), AB de Villiers (11), and Andre Russell (9).
Fifty
Second RR batter with 20 fifty-plus IPL scores
Samson recorded his 20th fifty-plus score for the Royals in the IPL. His tally includes two half-centuries). The 29-year-old is the second batter to score as many fifty-plus scores for RR in the cash-rich league. He joins Buttler, who tops the list with 23 fifty-plus scores. Buttler has a total of five tons for RR in the tournament.
Career
Samson set to complete 4,000 IPL runs
Samson has been the nucleus of RR's batting line-up for over six years. In 153 matches, the right-handed batter has racked up 3,970 runs at an average of 29.84. The tally includes 21 half-centuries and three tons. Samson is RR's highest run-scorer in the tournament, with 3,293 runs at 30.49. He has a strike rate of nearly 140 for the Royals.