New Delhi: In the 2023 Indian Premier League match on Wednesday night, Lucknow Super Giants defeated the Rajasthan Royals by a score of 10 runs. The Rajasthan Royals (RR) were assigned a 155-run goal to win the game at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, but Sanju Samson's team was only able to reach 144/6 in 20 overs on a somewhat sluggish surface, despite a promising start. After a strong 84-run opening partnership between Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal, the team saw a middle-order collapse and ultimately lost by a small margin.
Even with the loss on their homecoming in Jaipur, the Royals have had a strong start to the season and remain in the first place. The team has four victories in six games and a positive Net Run Rate (+1.043), and RR is poised for another successful campaign. The Samson-led team lost to the Gujarat Titans in the season final last year.
Samson had provided the Royals with reliable performances the season before, scoring 458 runs in 17 games at a commendable strike rate of 146. The Kerala-born wicketkeeper-batter has played six matches this year and scored 159 runs, including two half-centuries. Samson has been in and out of the national team throughout the years, and despite his impressive showings in the Indian Premier League, he hasn't enjoyed a sustained period of success with Team India.
Since his debut, Samson has played in 11 One Day Internationals and 17 Twenty20 Internationals for India. He has also played in a variety of batting order positions, including the opener. A question about Samson's lack of opportunities in the Indian squad and whether the wicketkeeper needs an IPL championship as captain to stake out the first-choice position was posed by Hindustan Times to former India selector Sarandeep Singh, who had also chosen Samson in Indian squads during his tenure.
Sarandeep countered that winning the IPL had little to do with Team India's consistent chances.
“Sanju Samson got his chances as an opener in T20Is when we were selectors. We gave him a proper chance. But at that time, he wasn't really able to make a mark. In the fifty-over games, he played in the middle-order and his performances were good. But what happens is, during the same time, there are other wicketkeeper-batters who perform well as well,” Sarandeep, who is the IPL Commentator and Expert on JioCinema, told us.
"Ishan Kishan scored a double-hundred recently. Of course, Rishabh Pant is there. Dinesh Karthik had also made a return last year. That's why, sometimes you don't get many chances.
“But I don't necessarily believe that winning the IPL title would help his case. Because you may win the IPL, but what if you don't score enough runs in the season? So, performances are the only criteria. If you're scoring 700-800 runs in an IPL season, you will definitely get picked. Yes, winning the IPL title is important, but only performances can get you picked,” Sarandeep stated.
Samson will be attempting to end RR's title drought and has already scored in six matches this year at a strike rate of 160. The Royals' first IPL championship came in the league's maiden season in 2008 when Shane Warne led the team to victory by defeating Chennai Super Kings in the championship game.