Despite the pandemic-induced cricket breakdown, Samson didn’t look the least bit rusty
In 2014, Sanju Samson scored a hundred wins against Pakistan who beat India in the U19 Asian Cup at the same Sharjah Cricket Stadium that ignited with impressive display in Rajasthan’s 2020 Indian Premier League opener. Royals. Faced with a seasoned attack from Chennai Super Kings, Samson took Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja to the dry cleaners, with what seemed like a small effort with them constantly overpitching. He cleverly read the lengths, got under the ball, and with straight limits not big enough, he broke nine sixes on his 74 of 32 balls with just the solitary limit.
Samson came in to join Steve Smith in the middle after the Royals captain promoted himself in the order in the absence of Jos Buttler. Smith, who had only played all three T20Is in England, took a while in between to get going, but Samson stood up and delivered. If he was on goal, he kept the form and crossed the line and did it gloriously on Tuesday (September 22), taking the game to ooze with positive intent.
Despite the pandemic-induced cricket breakdown, Samson didn’t look the least bit rusty. By his own admission to Star After the game, the Kerala hitter-goalkeeper spent the last year and a half working on his fitness, diet and training. Understanding that his game has a lot of power, he worked on his strength. “I can feel like I’m getting stronger. Batting range is what the game demands in this generation, and that’s my role, so I’ve definitely worked on that and developed my power punch a bit more in these five. months. “
In the game within the team that was part of the Royals ‘warm-up before the season opener, against Robin Uthappa’s XI, he posted 55 of 34 balls at No. 3, his usual spot in the Royals’ lineup. . His blitzkrieg in Sharjah also came in third place, as did his century last season, a position he has made his own over the years.
Samson is a vital cog in the Royals’ middle order. However, Buttler’s return is sure to cause a disruption in the order that will open the floor for various permutations and combinations. Smith, who started today, will move one down, two at best if Samson maintains his third place finish. However, the most obvious concern for Rajasthan, in the absence of Ben Stokes, will be the lack of a powerful hitter in the order. It was pretty obvious against CSK; Had it not been for Jofra Archer’s heroic last, where he smashed four successive sixes, they would have finished with a total of 200, which would have been disappointing given the position they were in.
Samson reinforcing his power game bodes well to fill that huge void and take on a great responsibility alongside David Miller. However, including Miller for Tom Curran denies them a bowling option that Stokes would have provided. Robin Uthappa’s record at No. 4 or less since 2015 is pretty forgettable, with the hitter scoring: 0, 2, 1, 2, 0, 9, with a 5-of-9 ball today in his Royals debut, which reinforces the need. of a strong finisher.
“It gives us options,” Smith said when asked if Buttler’s return will spoil his plans. “Obviously, he (Samson) played incredibly well today. I felt like all he was hitting was going to be six. Having Jos come back next game is a huge advantage for us. We’ll wait and see what we think is better. Jos has an incredible record at the top so I would dare say he will go back there. We knew we were going to have to score some big runs on this ground and it was tarnished in the second inning. That’s the role that Sanju plays, he takes the game in . “
Buttler’s record as a Rajasthan starter since 2018 is revealing, averaging 61.58 with a 160 strike rate with eight touchdowns out of fifty, while the other starters averaging just 28.10 in stark contrast to just five out of fifty. more annotations.
If Samson’s role in the Royals’ lineup is clear, with a new sheet of innovation in his own game, I’d rather the team get him a little lower in the order than he’s used to. A late blooming, in the event of a higher order failure, is what Rajasthan appears to be deprived of at the moment. But in Samson, they were able to find the answers to that.
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