Sanju Samson hit two fours and nine sixes during his knock.
Kochi Blue Tigers opener Sanju Samson was in sizzling touch during their Kerala Cricket League (KCL) 2025 match against Alleppey Ripples in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
The 30-year-old scored 83 runs from 41 balls, hitting just two fours, but as many as nine sixes. This meant that 62 of Samson’s 83 runs came in boundaries.
Samson’s first three sixes came in the fourth over of Kochi Blue Tigers’ innings, which was bowled by Aadithya Baiju. He went straight down the ground for his first maximum, before clearing long-on for his second. In the final ball of the fourth over, the wicketkeeper-batter went bog once again, this time clearing the deep midwicket area.
He got to his half-century in 32 balls, that too in typical Samson fashion, slamming a six off Jalaj Saxena’s delivery. Samson did not slow down after his half-century, and continued his onslaught in the 13th over, punishing spinner Mohamed Enaan with three consecutive sixes. This took Kochi Blue Tigers to a mammoth total of 126/3 after 13 overs.
Samson slammed one more maximum, off M Sreeroop in the first ball of the 14th over, before being dismissed by the pacer four deliveries later.
Samson’s knock eventually turned out to be a match-winning one, as the Kochi Blue Tigers clinched a three-wicket win over Alleppey Ripples to remain on top of the standings, with 12 points.
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Earlier, Alleppey Ripples rode on fifties from skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen (64) and Jalaj Saxena (71) to post a total of 176/6. Kochi Blue Tigers chased down the total in 18.2 overs.
Samson is in fine form in the Kerala Cricket League, with 285 runs from four innings, and is currently the third highest run-scorer this season.
He has three fifties and one century to his name in the Kerala Cricket League this season, and these knocks are timely since Samson is part of the India squad for the Asia Cup 2025 tournament. The Asia Cup will begin on September 9, with India playing their first match a day later, against UAE in Dubai. Pakistan and Oman are the other teams in India’s group.
Sanju Samson had a mediocre IPL 2025 campaign with the bat for Rajasthan Royals (RR). He played as an impact player in the earlier matches of the IPL 2025 season due to a finger injury, with Riyan Parag captaining the side instead. Samson’s batting in IPL 2025, however, wasn’t as effective as during the previous seasons, and aggregated just 285 runs from nine matches. This included just one half-century that came against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).
