Rajasthan Royals’ skipper Sanju Samson is typically composed on the field, rarely succumbing to anger even in the heat of a cricket match. However, a departure from his usual demeanor occurred on Tuesday, as Samson engaged in a heated dispute with the umpires following a contentious decision against him during the match against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Samson had been showcasing a stellar batting performance, steering the Royals towards victory. The altercation unfolded in the 16th over when Samson was caught near the long-on boundary, with Shai Hope executing the catch.
Referred to the third umpire for review, the decision confirming Samson’s dismissal was met with dissatisfaction from the Rajasthan Royals’ captain. Disregarding the conventional route, Samson strode directly towards the umpire for a conversation, the exchange brimming with animation.
Samson’s 46-ball 86 came to an end. It was a knock that has brought the Royals in with a chance of a win in a 222-run chase. His knock was laced with six sixes and eight fours.
Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abishek Porel slammed fifties in contrasting fashion, while Tristan Stubbs applied finishing touches to the innings with a 20-ball 41 as the trio’s efforts propelled Delhi Capitals to reach 221/8 in 20 overs against Rajasthan Royals.
While Fraser-McGurk enthralled everyone with a 19-ball fifty, Porel found boundaries consistently to hit a 36-ball 65. It is just the eighth time that the DC openers got fifties in an IPL match. Moreover, this instance happened in New Delhi for the first time since 2015 – when Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer hit fifties as openers.
Despite a slowdown in the middle overs, Stubbs slammed three fours and as many sixes in his 41 off 20 balls to ensure the 200 mark was breached in the first innings of an IPL 2024 game here for the fourth consecutive time.
