Last night, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai witnessed a crackling contest between Punjab Kings and the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2021. Team Rajasthan Royals might have lost the match but it was Sanju Samson that won the heart of the fans with his gutsy knock of 119 runs from 63 balls. He laced his innings with 12 fours and seven sixes. It almost looked like Rajasthan Royals walked away with the match but no! they just fell short by four runs. Needless to say, the Rajasthan Royals skipper lost the game but won hearts. Post this, Shashi Tharoor, Nitish Rana, Rajasthan Royals and other netizens hailed Samson for his effort. Sanju Samson Becomes First Player to Smash Century on IPL Captaincy Debut, Achieves Feat During RR vs PBKS Clash in IPL 2021.
The match began with Rajasthan Royals winning the toss and opting to bowl first. KL Rahul scored 91 runs from 50 balls with seven fours and five sixes. Chris Gayle and Deepak Hooda also joined the bandwagon with 40 and 64 runs respectively. When it came to Rajasthan Royals, they lost Ben Stokes on 0 and Manan Vohra on 12. But Sanju stabilised the rocky ship with his 119 runs. But that certainly wasn't enough as RR fell short by four runs.
Now, let's have a look at the tweets by netizens below:
Congratulations @IamSanjuSamson for scoring the first century in this year’s IPL! I am sure that a victory would have meant more than 100, but this was a brilliant, well-paced & magnificently executed innings, which deserved more than a narrow defeat. A great start to #IPL2021.
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 12, 2021
Nitish Rana:
Unreal knock @IamSanjuSamson but tough luck @rajasthanroyals! #RRvPBKS #IPL2021
— Nitish Rana (@NitishRana_27) April 12, 2021
Harsha Bhogle
When @IamSanjuSamson scores 25 it is a melody. This century is a symphony. An absolute treat to watch from one of the most gifted players around.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 12, 2021
Kris Srikkanth
What a match #IPL2021 is here @IamSanjuSamson that was truly one of the best knocks I have seen in the @IPL ! What a knock unfortunate for @rajasthanroyals but you guys are going to be dangerous this time around! good for @PunjabKingsIPL to win this one! #RRvsPBKS
— Kris Srikkanth (@KrisSrikkanth) April 12, 2021
Sanjay Manjrekar
Point to note...Samson came into bat in the first over and was there till the last ball of the innings. He came of age tonight I thought. First hundred in a run chase too. Let’s hope he can keep his form through the length of the IPL.#RRvsPBKS #SanjuSamson
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) April 12, 2021
Rajasthan Royals
Captain. 💗#HallaBol | #RRvPBKS | @IamSanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/Jy3GE9odab
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 12, 2021
Needless to say, Sanju Samson was made the Man of the Match for his prolific knock. "I took the singles and got into a rhythm and then I started to play my shots in the second half. I enjoy my shots but I come back to the present after I play those shots," he said at the presentation ceremony. Rajasthan Royals will play their next match against Delhi Capitals on April 15, 2021.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 13, 2021 09:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).