The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Samson gets one over Rahul in battle of keeper-batters
Sanju wins captains' duel
Samson hasn't always made the most of his chances in India colours. But the IPL is his stage and Samson has flourished on it. On Sunday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Royals skipper upstaged his Lucknow Super Giants counterpart and fellow batsman-wicketkeeper Rahul to fashion a 20-run win. His unbeaten 82 off 52 balls, where he seemed in total control, was the difference in the end.
Samson came to the middle after the early dismissal of Jos Buttler and immediately seemed at home. There was the small matter of redressing the poor home record last season when the Royals won just one of their five matches at the venue. Pace or spin, short or full, was dealt without much fuss and he took Royals to an above-par score. Three fours and six sixes were the result of great placement, timing and judgement.
Meanwhile, Rahul had a trial by fire at the start of his innings as LSG were three down quickly. But building an innings is second nature to him and first with Deepak Hooda and then with Nicholas Pooran, he took his team to a situation where they had an even chance with 49 to get off the lastfou rovers. An inningsof 58 off 44 balls may not be exceptional when the team is chasing 194, but it was the need of the hour, and Rahul showed in flashes that he has it in him to raise the tempo. Had it not been for a miserly spell by medium pacer Sandeep Sharma at the death, Rahul's effort may have reaped dividends.
Bouncers make an impact
Two bouncers per over were expected to sort out the men from the boys when it came to dealing with short-pitched bowling. Trent Boult and Nandre Burger proved the assertion right when Devdutt Padikkal and even the experienced KL Rahul wore blows on the body from the Rajasthan Royals left-arm pacers. Rahul was good enough not to be rattled and hit the next one, pitched up, over mid-off for four. But Ayush Badoni and Padikkal were clearly not used to the pace.
After a fullish ball that came in, Boult's second ball to Padikkal was shorter and seemed a lot quicker too. Padikkal went for the pull but with bent knees. The eyes were not on the ball which made contact with the grille of the helmet, with the batsman visibly shaken. That had an effect next ball. The left-hander was perhaps expecting another short one and went for a premeditated pull, to one which was too full and kept a bit low, and was bowled.
As far as Badoni, he seemed to have been unnerved by what preceded him. The right-hander failed to hit the first few balls he faced, from Boult, off the square. When it was time to face the much taller and quicker Burger, Badoni was reluctant to get on the front foot, even when the ball was up there. A tame catch off a full ball was the result, leaving LSG 11/3, and always behind the eight-ball.
Parag's mixed outing
For a player who hasn't played for his country, Riyan Parag generates a lot of social media traffic during thei pl. and 2024 could be a make-or-break season for him.
It would have been a case of 'same old, same old' had it not been for his skipper Samson coming in the way of a simple caught-and-bowled opportunity for Krunal Pandya. Parag later benefitted when Mohsin Khan failed to get a finger on a skier.
But Parag is nothing if not confident in his ability and was coming off a prolific domestic season. A Yash Thakur long hop allowed him to hit one over cow corner for a six. The next ball was top-edged, but luckily for Parag, landed in no-man's land. When Ravi Bishnoi offered a favour able length, as log-sweep went way over the boundary.
As the final few overs approached, a more proactive approach was needed and Naveenul-haq was cut with power behind point for four. Later in the same over, came the shot that displayed Parag's insouciance – a flat-batted six over long-off to a slower bouncer. But then came the impetuosity as Parag succumbed next ball, attempting a repeat.
43 off 29 balls was a decent effort, but questions remain.
BRIEF SCORES: Rajasthan Royals 193-4 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 82*, Riyan Parag 43) bt LSG 173-6 (Nicholas Pooran 64*, KL Rahul 58, Trent Boult 2-35) by 20 runs