Sanju Samson gets another new record under his belt in IPL
In the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2023) clash between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS), RR skipper Sanju Samson scripted a unique milestone. The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter overtook Ajinkya Rahane as the highest run-scorer for the franchise.
Before the start of the match, Samson was only two runs short of becoming the leading run-scorer for Rajasthan Royals. Samson now has a total of 3138 runs while the ex-RR skipper Ajinkya Rahane had amassed 3096 runs.
𝐃𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟏. 💗 pic.twitter.com/Thy5l7Jhzc
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 5, 2023
Life update: Sanju Samson overtakes Ajinkya Rahane to become our leading run-getter. 💗
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 5, 2023
Rajasthan Royals was dealt an early blow after losing openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravichandran Ashwin cheaply. Jos Buttler contributed with a brief cameo as Sanju Samson took on the onus on himself to propel RR’s cause single-handedly in a towering chase of 198. He was eventually dismissed by Nathan Ellis after a quickfire knock of 42 from 25 balls.
Earlier, Punjab Kings skipper Shikhar Dhawan also entered the record books for registering his 50th score of fifty or more in the IPL, smashing 50 off 35 balls. With the feat, Dhawan equaled Virat Kohli, who is second on the list of players with the most 50+ scores in IPL. While Dhawan has scored 50 fifty-plus scores in 207 innings, Virat registered the same milestone in 216 innings. David Warner currently tops the list of most 50+ scores. He has registered 60 fifty-plus scores.
RR’s decision to promote Ravichandran Ashwin to open decision fails miserably
In an interesting move, Rajasthan Royals opted for Ravichandran Ashwin to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. The star Indian all-rounder walked to the crease as Rajasthan Royals set their eyes on the huge mountain of runs to climb. Ashwin’s adventure, however, ended shortly with him scoring a golden duck.
The last time he opened in an inning in IPL was back in 2013 for Chennai Super Kings against the Kolkata Knight Riders. The 36-year-old spinner managed to score 11 runs from 13 deliveries. Adding another feather to his cap, Ashwin now has batted in all positions from 1 to 10.
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Notably, it has now been known why Ashwin opened the batting with Jaiswal in place of Jos Buttler. Apparently, the English batter took a hit to his finger while taking a catch to dismiss Shahrukh Khan.
