Sanju Samson hit three sixes off Rashid Khan© BCCI
Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara feels captain Sanju Samson’s three consecutive sixes against Gujarat Titans’ premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan proved to be a game changer during their successful run chase in the Indian Premier League in Ahmedabad. Samson (60 off 32 balls) brought down the asking rate by hitting Rashid for three consecutive sixes in the 13th over of RR’s chase of 178. The Royals finally chased down the target with four balls to spare on Sunday, with Shimron Hetmyer down the order scoring an unbeaten 56 off just 26 balls.
“Not only did you get us through the powerplay, but that Rashid Khan over and then how you kicked it from there, that was a game changer. Their best bowler, some say the best T20 spinner in the world, absolutely Was caught off guard, Sangakkara told Samson in a post-match video uploaded on the Royals’ social media accounts.
Drive the ball, not the man! pic.twitter.com/C2CvL25mor
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 16, 2023
Samson and Hetmyer chased down the target with a crucial partnership of 59 runs off 27 balls. After this, Hetmyer completed the chase by adding 47 runs in 20 balls with Dhruv Jurel (18 runs in 10 balls).
“It shows that when you are in the game, anything is possible. Whether it is Rashid Khan, Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan, it does not matter when we are in the game. No. Man. Again, brilliantly done,” said Sangakkara, himself a batting legend and former Sri Lankan captain.
With the win, the Royals have moved to the top of the IPL 2023 standings with 4 wins from 5 matches. On the other hand, Gujarat are third in the points table after their second consecutive defeat at home.