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Sanju Samson shatters Ajinkya Rahane's all-time record, Chahal goes past Malinga in RR vs PBKS IPL 2023 match
Sanju Samson went past Ajinkya Rahane to become Rajathan Royals' all-time highest run-getter. He did it against Punjab Kings in IPL 2023.
Sanju Samson took just two balls to get going in IPL 2023 match no.8 against the Punjab Kings at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati. The RR captain hit Arshdeep Singh's fuller-length delivery straight over his head for a six. This was the same, who had dismissed both the RR openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and R Ashwin just a while ago. This was the perfect example of Samson's class. He doesn't take time to get going and has the ability to hit even good deliveries to the boundary.
Apart from signalling his intentions, the straight six also helped Samson to break a massive record. The right-hander overtook Ajinkya Rahane to become Rajasthan Royals' all-time highest run-scorer. Samson, who needed just three runs to go past Rahane's tally of 3098 runs for RR, became the first batter of the franchise to cross the 3100-run mark. Samson did it in 114 innings at an average of 30.46 and a strike rate of 138. He now has 3138 runs for the Royals.
Rajasthan Royals’ all-time top scorers:
Sanju Samson: 3138 runs (118 matches)
Ajinkya Rahane: 3098 runs (106 matches)
Shane Watson: 2474 runs (84 matches)
Jos Buttler: 2378 runs (60 matches)
Rahul Dravid: 1324 runs (52 matches)
Also Read | Why did Ashwin open for RR? Dejected Samson gives Buttler's injury update
Chasing a gettable 198 for victory on a placid batting track and dew as his allies, Samson continued his attacking approach. He hit both Harpreet Brar and Nathan Ellis for back-to-back boundaries each in the next two overs to put the pressure right back on PBKS in the powerplay.
Samson, however, lost his rhythm when an injured Jos Buttler fell to Ellis. The 28-year-old hit just one boundary in the next five overs before getting out Ellis while trying to muscle a wide delivery over mid-off. He was dismissed for 42 off 25 balls.
The wicket ended up being a major turning point in the match as RR despite valiant efforts from Shimron Hetmyer (36 off 18) and Dhruv Jurel (32 off 15) fell five short of the target.
Yuzvendra Chahal surpasses Lasith Malinga
Samson was not the only cricketer achieving milestones on Wednesday. Experienced leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal surpassed the legendary Lasith Malinga to become the second-highest wicket-taker in the history of IPL. Chahal, who struggled to grip the ball because of the dew, had his moment to remember the 16th over when he dismissed Jitesh Sharma for 27. The crafty leggie now has 171 wickets in 132 innings at an average of 21.58 and an economy rate of 7.62. Malinga had 170 wickets for the Mumbai Indians in 122 innings.
Chahal would be hoping to go past Amit Mishra's (183 wickets) and become IPL's leading wicket-taker, this year itself.
