JAIPUR: It was supposed to be the clash of big hitters, but a small, unassuming, unknown boy stole the show. Sanju Samson is not the most familiar of names outside Kerala.
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However, at Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Monday, he was clearly the hero in a match that had the likes of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid and Shane Watson out there in the middle.
Samson's 63 off 41 balls helped Rajasthan Royals keep their home record intact with a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore. Gayle and Watson did play their parts, but this wicketkeeper, playing his second match this season, dealt the decisive hand.
Chasing a stiff target of 172, Sanju came in at number three as a pinch-hitter, and stayed back long enough to see the Royals get into a position of strength. In fact, he played the dominant role in the 68-run partnership with Watson.
He smashed Murali Kartik for two sixes in the first two balls that the bowler delivered on Monday.
Later, Watson (41) and Brad Hodge (32) ensured that the Royals would keep their all-win home record intact. Late hiccups did throw in some excitement, but eventually Royals came out on top.
This was their fifth win at home, a fortress that seems difficult to breach.
Earlier, the storm did not last long, but as long as it raged, it threatened to blow the Royals away. Gayle's innings on Monday was short, but quite effective. The 34 off 16 balls was more about timing and placement than raw power that Gayle is known for. Even though the six off Sreesanth was pure brute force, the three boundaries in Ajit Chandila's first over was all about placement. If the first one was a thick edge past point, the second was an exquisite straight drive.
When Watson induced the Jamaican to edge to wicketkeeper Sanju Samson, it was more relief than celebration. The run rate, which was 11 when Gayle was there, dropped to 7.5 by the 10th over. AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli departed trying to clear the boundary, both caught by James Faulkner at long-on off Sreesanth and Watson respectively. Faulkner otherwise had a forgettable birthday, conceding 42 runs from four overs. Twenty-two of those came in the in the last over of the innings, with Vinay Kumar smashing the medium-pacer for three big sixes.
That over in fact, helped the RCB innings immensely, which at one stage seemed to have been derailed. Watson, on the other hand, bagged three crucial wickets.
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