Royal Challengers Bangalore donned the green jersey against Rajasthan Royals at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore for the match 11 of the IPL 2018. But unlike previous occasions, it didn’t prove to be lucky for RCB as a magnificent Sanju Samson took the game away from them with a blistering knock.
The skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and preferred to field first. Ajinkya Rahane suffered an injury to his leg very early in the game and he decided to stand and deliver and in doing so, provided a good start for RR. He scored 36 off 20 before holding out to Chris Woakes but the visitors had reached a decent 52/1 after 6 overs.
D’Arcy Short’s poor run of form continued as he departed for 11 off 17 in the 7th over. But Sanju Samson provided the much-needed impetus to the innings and he was well supported by Ben Stokes. The duo added 49 runs for the 3rd wicket before Stokes got out for 27. That’s when Samson took the matters into his own hands and began to smash the bowlers out of the park.
After 15 overs, the score read 129/3 and RR had eyes set on something close to 190. But Samson had other ideas as he unleashed himself and kept sending the ball over the ropes on a regular basis. The last 4 overs yielded 75 runs and the score was boosted to 217/4 at the end of 20 overs. Sanju Samson remained unbeaten at 92 off 45 balls with 10 sixes and 2 fours.
In reply, RCB were struck with an early blow as Brendon McCullum was picked up by Krishnappa Gowtham for just 4 in the first over. But Kohli added substance to the chase and along with Quinton de Kock, scored a flurry of boundaries and when the powerplay finished, the hosts had jumped to 64/1.
The chase was well and truly on until these 2 were striking well. But de Kock fell prey to the part-timer D’Arcy Short for 26 in the 8th over. Kohli brought up his 31st IPL fifty in the next over and with AB de Villiers by his side, kept the hopes alive as the score raced off to 100/2 after 10 overs.
But when Kohli got out in the next over, the visitors took a sigh of relief and managed to get the other dangerman de Villiers soon. It was all downhill for RCB from then on as the lower order had a mountain to climb. Mandeep Singh and Washington Sundar played a few sparkling shots but those weren’t going to be enough. In the end, RCB fell short by 19 runs and RR achieved a handsome victory away from home.
Match Summary
Royal Challengers Bangalore won the toss and opted to bowl first
Rajasthan Royals:Â 217/4 in 20 overs
Sanju Samson 92* (45), Ajinkya Rahane 36 (20)
Yuzvendra Chahal 22/2 (4), Chris Woakes 47/2 (4)
Royal Challengers Bangalore:Â 198/6 in 20 overs
Virat Kohli 57 (30), Mandeep Singh 47* (25)
Shreyas Gopal 22/2 (4), D’Arcy Short 10/1 (1)
Rajasthan Royals won by 19 runs
Player of the Match: Sanju Samson
Twitter saluted the belligerence of Sanju Samson
Now that is what you expect from a player of the undeniable class of Sanju Samson. Not pretty 30s and 40s but biggies. What an innings this was…
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 15, 2018
Sanju Samson is an unbelievable player … makes it look far too easy … he is going to be a superstar .. @rajasthanroyals #IPL #India
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) April 15, 2018
https://twitter.com/SirJadeja/status/985496065448337408
That was a special innings from Sanju Samson. Great Vishu gift. Love watching him bat. 217 even for RCB’s formidable batting line up is a daunting total #RCBvRR
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 15, 2018
https://twitter.com/harbhajan_singh/status/985491857638440961
https://twitter.com/tmills15/status/985490770680573952
Sanju Samson…
61 (31b) for DD v GL (Delhi) in 2017 (7 sixes, 0 fours)
92* (45b) for RR v RCB (Bangalore) in 2018 (10 sixes, 2 fours)#RCBvRR#IPL2018— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) April 15, 2018
It baffles me where @IamSanjuSamson disappears after every @IPL season. A player of this class should have played a few games for India by now.#RCBvRR #RRvRCB
— Shubham Khare (@shubhamkhare71) April 15, 2018
Effortless six hitting!! Lazy elegance about each of his last few hits Sanju Samson. Clearing the ropes with ease. Fantastic innings. This will take some getting @RCBTweets #RCBvRR
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) April 15, 2018
Bring back Anushka pls.
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) April 15, 2018
Samson is the most non violent six hitter you can hope to see #RCBvRR
— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) April 15, 2018
Stay updated with all the IPL action, follow Cricadium on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
