Watch: Sanju Samson's spectacular first-ball six gets the RR innings going
Walking in with RR reeling, Sanju Samson produced another critical knock of 47 off 26 balls for Royals in the IPL 2022 Qualifier 1.
Walking in after an early wicket and his team struggling for rhythm at 18/1 after 3 overs inside the powerplay, Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson gave the innings some momentum with a spectacular first-ball six in the IPL 2022 Qualifier 1 on Tuesday (May 24).
Facing Gujarat Titans (GT) left-arm seamer Yash Dayal, Samson blazed his willow for a maximum straight down the ground. Finding Dayal's full-pitched ball in his radar, the elegant right-hander timed it to perfection over the long-on region.
Aiming to cramp the batter for room from the over-the-wicket angle for the left-arm quick, Dayal still ended up bowling one close to Samson's yielding willow and went for a six off a superbly timed stroke.
As always, Sanju Samson maintained his class and grace in the shot and dispatched the ball over the ropes with minimum fuss.
Sanju Samson's eye-catching first ball six
The beautiful stroke saw Sanju Samson half slice the ball from the sweet spot on the bat over the wide long-on region. With this being the powerplay, the long-on was kept vacant by the Titans, having asked Dayal to force Samson to hit through the off-side.
But the angle of the delivery from Dayal close to the batter's body and arc gave the India and Kerala batter the space to get underneath it and find the optimum connection for a stupendous six.
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Like with most Sanju Samson strokes, this one too left the fans and the commentators amazed as the Indian aggressor went on to play another impactful knock for his side.
Having walked into a difficult situation, with RR just losing in-form opener Yashasvi Jaiswal with fellow batter Jos Buttler struggling to refind his best form, Samson took the matter in his hands and gave the innings the impetus it needed.
Samson blasted a critical knock of 47 off 26 deliveries, including 5 fours and 3 sixes, seen as a perfect response to the Indian selectors, who chose to ignore the quality batter for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa. Samson has blasted his 421 runs in IPL 2022 at a strike-rate of 150.35.