Sanju Samson opened up about his brilliant match-winning knock against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024 that helped Rajasthan Royals achieve the most successful chase at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
When asked to bat first, LSG scored 196 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs. The hosts were reeling at 11 for 2 at one point before half-centuries from their captain KL Rahul (76) and Deepak Hooda (50) helped them recover and post a total of over 190.
Before that game, no team had managed to chase even a total of more than 180 at that venue let alone chase a total of more than 190. Before Rajasthan Royals achieved the chase, the most successful chase at the venue was of 177 races.
The odds were against Rajasthan Royals as they had to pull off a record-breaking chase. And his chances of doing so seemed all but over after his mini collapse between the sixth and ninth overs. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler shared a 60-run stand for the opening wicket before departing in a space of three deliveries. The in-form Riyan Parag couldn’t do much with the bat either as the Royals found themselves reeling at 78 for 3 in the ninth over.
However, Sanju Samson played a captain’s role and led his team to a famous victory. He stayed till the end to take Rajasthan Royals home in 19 overs. The right-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 71 off 33 balls and also shared an unbeaten 121-run stand with Dhruv Jurel, who scored 52.
Sanju Samson on his winning shot:
After achieving the winning runs, the ever calm and collected Sanju Samson celebrated the victory in a spirited manner. And he recently he talked about calling him and celebrating him. The Kerala star stated that he had never “expressed himself so emotionally in a live game” before opening up about the reason.
“You can say that I never had in my mind that I am going to win this game and that I am going to show that I am ready for it. It was never like that. I have never expressed myself so emotionally in a live game or anywhere,” said Sanju Samson in a video published by BCCI.
“I’ve done it in Kerala, when we played for the Ranji Trophy and when people challenge you, I think the best comes out of you. But I think in that game, when it came to the last final moment of the game, I definitely felt something happened. I really enjoyed it,” he added.
Samson is currently in the US with the Indian team for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Blue will open their campaign on Wednesday (June 5) against Ireland.