Samson smooth, but RR’s 152-5 v KKR insufficient

Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Sanju Samson drives against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium yesterday. Pic/BCCI; IPL

His back was hurting, but that did not deter skipper Sanju Samson from carrying on to slam his second half-century of this IPL to help Rajasthan Royals post 152-5 in their 20 overs against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday.

Despite Samson's 54 off 49 balls, RR didn't have enough runs on the board and it required a late push from Shimron Hetmyer (13-ball 27 not out).

At the time of going to press, KKR were 40-2 after seven overs with skipper Shreyas Iyer and Nitish Rana batting on 16 and two respectively.

Put in to bat, RR didn't have the best of the starts, losing opener Devdutt Padikkal (2) in the third over, which was a wicket-maiden by Umesh Yadav.

Iyer changed tactics a bit this time, starting with a spinner from the other end for the first time this season.

While the KKR bowlers managed to keep Jos Buttler quiet, Samson upped the ante with some silken drives and lofted shots that fetched his team 15 runs off Umesh and 11 runs off debutant Anukul Roy as RR managed 38-1 in the Powerplay.

Buttler's unconvincing knock of 22 off 25 balls eventually ended after a flat hit at long-on was caught by Shivam Mavi off Tim Southee.
On a pitch where the ball wasn't coming on to the bat willingly, Samson played sensibly and did not throw away his wicket. In fact, Monday's knock was his longest of this IPL; his previous being off just 27 balls during RR's opening game against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Pune. Samson brought up his 17th IPL half-century with a single off Andre Russell.

The KKR bowlers were not just spectacular in the Powerplay, but also controlled the middle-overs, conceding just 58 runs from Over No. 7 to 14.