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Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson's 86-run knock may have ended up in a losing cause but he managed to rewrite Indian Premier League (IPL) record books. With a six off Khaleel Ahmed in the third over of the run chase against Delhi Capitals (DC), he broke the record for fastest Indian batter to 200 sixes in IPL. He achieved the milestone in his 159th innings. The previous record belonged to former Chennai Super Kings (CSK) skipper MS Dhoni who did it in 165 innings.
Dhoni is followed by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) opener Virat Kohli (180 innings), Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Rohit Sharma (185 innings) and former CSK batter Suresh Raina (193 sixes).
Samson hit five more sixes in his 46-ball 86. He is the ninth batter to hit 200 or more sixes in the IPL. The top spot is occupied by Chris Gayle with 357 sixes. Samson has 205 sixes from 159 innings. He is also the only RR batter in the top 10.
Samson’s wicket was the turning point of the game as RR posted 201/8 and lost the game by 20 runs at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi. This was RR's third loss of the tournament. Despite the loss, they are placed second on the points table with eight wins from 11 games. Their net run rate (NRR) is inferior to table toppers Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who have same number of wins from as many games.
Samson’s controversial dismissal
Samson’s dismissal caused controversy as many were not convinced whether Shai Hope was manage to evade the boundary rope or not. The RR captain had a heated conversation with the on-field umpires as well as the third umpire Michael Gough took the decision rather quickly.
“I think we had it in our hands, it was like 11-12 runs per over, it was achievable, but these things happen in IPL. Yes, we are doing both the things fine, we will like to stick to what the conditions demand, 220 was 10 runs extra to chase, if we had conceded a couple of less boundaries, we would have made it through,” the 29-year-old said in the post-match presentation.
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RR will take on Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in their next clash on May 12 at MA Chidambaran Stadium, Chennai. A win out of remaining three games will cement their spot in the playoffs.
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