Published: Mar 29, 2019, 09:47 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 29, 2019, 09:47 PM (IST)
Sanju Samson became the first batsman to score a hundred in Indian T20 League 2019 as he and skipper Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 70, powered Rajatshan to 198 against Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.
Electing to bat, Rajasthan were in a spot of bother after Rashid Khan struck early to dismiss big-hitting Jos Buttler in the fourth over the match. (Hyderabad vs Rajasthan: FOLLOW LATEST UPDATES)
While Rahane initially struggled to time the ball, Samson managed to get going without much trouble. However, the Rajasthan skipper managed to stay in the middle and opened his shoulder as he and Samson upped the ante.
The Rahane-Samson duo put up a 119-run stand for the second wicket before Rahane was dismissed for 70 off 49 balls in the 16th over off Shahbaz Nadeem. (ALSO READ: SRH vs RR: The five major talking points)
While Hyderabad would have hoped for a flurry of wickets, Samson dashed that plan and how. The 24-year-old, who received a reprieve in the 17th over after Jonny Bairstow failed to hold onto a running catch, made Hyderabad pay. The right-hander creamed 24 runs off the 18th over bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, hitting a six and 4 fours to move into the 80s.
While Samson continued to make merry and brought up his and season’s first hundred, Bhuvneshwar, who is India’s key bowlers in the upcoming World Cup, had a night to forget as his last two overs went for 45 runs.
Brief scores: Rajasthan 198/2 (Sanju Samson 102*, Ajinkya Rahane 70; Rashid Khan 1/24) vs Hyderabad
