Former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel heaped rich praise on Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Sanju Samson for his heroics against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in match 18 of IPL 2021.
Rajasthan Royals defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 6 wickets at Mumbai to register their second win of the IPL 14.
On account of an impressive bowling spell of 4/23 by Chris Morris, RR restricted the Eoin Morgan-led side to only 133 runs in their quota of 20 overs.
Chasing the target, they lost their star opener, Jos Buttler, early. Coming to bat at No.3 skipper Sanju Samson joined hands with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and made sure that his team got 50 runs in the mandatory 6 over power play.
Samson anchored that innings and stitched important partnership with Shivam Dube, Rahul Tewatia, and David Miller and saw his team home.
After his impressive century against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their first match, skipper Sanju Samson was criticized by many fans and pundits for his non-consistent performance.
He, however, replied to all the critics and played a sensible knock of unbeaten 42 runs and made sure that his team beat two-time champions KKR by 6 wickets.
Talking to Star Sports, former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel said that it was a very important innings for Sanju Samson and his captaincy was on spot.
"It was very important for him because we have been criticizing him for not putting a prize on his wickets. Today, he exactly did that. His captaincy was spot on. He remained not out. Sometimes you can get hundreds but when you're not out and winning the game for your team, that feels a lot different," Parthiv Patel said on the Star Sports show.
Parthiv Patel further waxed lyrical on Sanju Samson for taking his time and focussing on timing the ball. He further expressed his delight that RR's 'head boy' played responsibly.
"He took his time because the low score helped him to take some time. Some of the shots he played were outstanding. When he is batting well, he is just timing the ball well and not trying to hit them too hard. I wanted Rajasthan Royals head boy to play like a head boy and it was good to see him do that," he said.
With 6 wickets win over KKR, The Sanju Samson-led franchise will next face defending champions Mumbai Indians (MI) on 29th April at Delhi.
(Star Sports Inputs)
