Sanju Samson was in blistering form against Gujarat Titans on Sunday. courtesy of 6 sixes and 3 fours, the right-hander played a sublime knock of 60 off 32 balls in which he scored hattrick of sixes against Rashid Khan.
Aside from the thrilling action, and an intense moment between Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson, the GT vs RR IPL 2023 match witnessed a rare occurrence on the field of cricket. Rashid Khan, who over the years has emerged as a headache for batsmen all around the world, was taken to the cleaners by Rajasthan Royals’ captain. Sanju Samson took out Khan, not once, not twice but thrice on consecutive deliveries.
Watch Sanju Samson hitting hattrick of sixes on Rashid Khan
While Rashid Khan often receives respect from batsmen, Sanju Samson though was in no mood to spare the Afghan bowler. Samson targetted the 13th over of the innings bowled by Khan and in a bid to get keep the required run rate in check cleared the boundary thrice on three balls. Watch the incredible striking by Sanju Samson.
GT vs RR IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals won by 3 wickets
In the GT vs RR match, Gujarat Titans had a shaky start batting first but Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya kept the run rate in check for a big total. However, wickets at regular intervals pulled them from posting a big total on the board, yet the big-hitting from David Miller in the death overs took GT past 170. Chasing 178 at Narendra Modi Stadium, Rajasthan Royals got off to a horrendous start. Both the openers fell inside the first three overs and as a consequence, RR posted the lowest powerplay score (26/2 after 6 overs) this season. With the wicket of Riyan Parag RR were reeling at 55 for 4 after 10.3 overs.
As a daunting task was in front of them, Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer started to throw caution to the wind. In the process, Samson dispatched Rashid Khan for three consecutive sixes, and soon the required run rate came in touching distance. Hetmyer also had his share of sixes in the brisk partnership of 59. Samson held out after scoring 60 off 32, leaving the West Indian to finish the job. Hetmyer got the likely support from Dhruv Jurel and Ravichandran Ashwin, as both the players played their cameos. The match went to the last over where at the mark of 5 runs to get off 5 balls, Shimron Hetmyer got the ball to land inside the boundary for a maximum. The Royals won the match by 3 wickets.
