Last year’s finalists, Rajasthan Royals pulled off a memorable run chase against defending champions Gujarat Titans, handing them their second straight loss at home. It was their skipper Sanju Samson who led from the front, scoring a 32-ball 60 to lay the foundation of a tricky run-chase that was finished by Shimron Hetmyer. Lavishing praise upon Samson, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh compared him to none other than the great MS Dhoni while advocating his case for regular game-time in the Indian national cricket team.

“We’ve seen another captain’s knock from Sanju. I have said in the past and still believe that he should be a regular feature in the Indian national side (in white ball format). He plays spinners and fast bowlers with equal ease. He knows how to absorb pressure and is a strong-willed player. He has faith in his abilities, just like MS Dhoni,” said Harbhajan on Star Sports.

While defending a target of 178, Gujarat Titans had the best possible start in the second innings as skipper Hardik Pandya and Mohammed Shami dismissed the deadly duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler were back in the pavilion with the scores of 1(7) and 0 (5) respectively.

Devdutt Padikkal and Sanju Samson came in to steady the sinking ship of the Rajasthan’s innings. Sanju Samson started to accelerate from one side while Padikkal focused on strike rotation. But Rashid Khan came in with his experience to break the partnership as Padikkal ended up losing his wicket for a score of 26(25) in 8.3 overs.

Riyan Parag came in to support Sanju but Rashid Khan wasn’t in the mood to allow Rajasthan a chance to make a comeback. Parag went back to the pavilion with a score of 5 (7).

Rajasthan’s skipper still went on to play according to his own will and made GT bowlers dance to his tune. Shimron Hetmyer and Sanju Samson brought Rajasthan back into the game, with the former remaining unbeaten as the Royals finished off the chase with 4 balls to spare.

With ANI inputs