Sanju Samson hits Chennai Super Kings out of park as Rajasthan Royals start IPL with 16-run win

Sanju Samson’s six-hitting exhibition along with Jofra Archer’s magnificent all-round show ensured that Rajasthan Royals registered a comfortable 16-run win against the Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday. The IPL 2020 match was played at the Sharjah International Stadium.

Rated as the weakest among eight teams, Royals without a Ben Stokes or a Jos Buttler in their playing XI did most things right under skipper Steve Smith.

Batting first on a placid Sharjah track, Royals put up a mammoth 216 on the board. This was largely due to Samson’s 74 off 32 balls that had nine sixes apart from a solitary boundary.

He found an able ally in skipper Steve Smith, who opened in T20 cricket for the first time in his career and scored 69 off 47 balls without much fuss while making a comeback to competitive cricket after a concussion break.

But at a time when it looked like RR may not be able to cross the 200-run mark, it was Archer’s four sixes off Lungi Ngidi in the 20th over to tilt the scales.

Even going by the easy nature of the track, scoreboard pressure was always there and CSK still managed 200 for 6 with Archer (1/26 off 4 overs) swinging it in favour of Royals with a decisive 19th over.

Leg spinner Rahul Tewatia also played a key role picking up 3 wickets for 37 runs in his quote of four overs. After Tewatia had dismissed the top order, it was always a catch up game for CSK. Chennai ans would have wanted to see skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni try and come up the order. But he came in at no. 7, when the match was as good as over.

The night belonged to Samson, a man rated for his talent but criticised for his lack of consistency. He always has one or two incredible IPL days every year. Tuesday was one such day when he was at his brilliant best.