Irfan Pathan and Sanju Samson (Source -Twitter/X)
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan lavished praise on Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson for his match-winning knock against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL 2024 clash held in Jaipur on March 24. Samson struck an unbeaten 82 off 52 deliveries and helped RR post a total of 193 runs. The hosts then restricted KL Rahul and Co. for 173 runs to register a win by 20 runs.
Pathan was asked about his take on Samson’s knock during a discussion on Star Sports. The former cricketer also lauded the Kerala-born cricketer’s skills against spin. Moreover, the 39-year-old went on to praise the wicketkeeper-batter’s ability to play big shots.
“I and (Ambati) Rayudu were watching each other’s faces when he played that shot off the back foot on the off side. You cannot play such a shot unless you have special ability, and Sanju is extremely special. The way Sanju Samson is playing spin, I feel his name will surely be there among the top five cricketers against spin in the IPL. He has an amazing back-foot game. We know he has always played fast bowling well. He controlled the innings totally,”Irfan said.
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“Two wickets had fallen but despite that, he played his game properly. He played cautiously when he had to do so and then when he had to play the big shots, he is as good as anyone as far as power-hitting is concerned. So it was enjoyable to watch,” he added.
Samson batted from within the crease as well and just tried to time the ball: Ambati Rayudu
Former India cricketer Ambati Rayudu also showered praise on Sanju Samson for the way he played the big shots. He added that it doesn’t appear the batter was forcing the ball, mentioning it as ‘hallmark batting.”
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“He batted from within the crease as well and just tried to time the ball. It never seemed like he was trying to force the ball. It was his hallmark batting. He generally bats like this at the start. It remains to be seen if he will be consistent throughout the tournament,” he said.