Sanju Samson smashes 82 to take Rajasthan Royals to 164/5 against Sunrisers Hyderabad
Dubai, Sep 27: Skipper Sanju Samson produced a well-calculated 82-run knock on a sluggish track to help Rajasthan Royals reach 164 for five in their Indian Premier League match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, here on Monday.
It is second consecutive fifty for Samson after conjuring up an unbeaten 70 against Delhi Capitals on Saturday.
The captain sent the ball seven times to the fence and three times over it in his impressive 57-ball innings, with which he became the leading run-scorer (433) of the season, surpassing Delhi Capitals' Shikhar Dhawan (430).
Yashasvi Jaiswal (36) and Mahipal Lomror (29 not out), who was dropped twice (23 and 29), were the other two batters to provide valuable contributions on a wicket where the ball did not come on to the bat easily for a major part of Royals innings.
Asked to bowl, pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/28) bowled a splendid length ball, on leg stump which worked perfectly for SRH as the dangerous Evin Lewis (6) hit straight to Abdul Samad at deep backward square leg in the second over.
Despite snaring Lewis' wicket early, the Sunrisers bowlers were guilty of bowling wide and short and Jaiswal took the opportunity to counterattack.
The youngster, who smashed four boundaries and a six, played some splendid shots with skipper Samson also slowly finding his feet as the two collected 46 runs in the Powerplay.
The duo went on to share a 56-run stand before Sandeep Sharma (1/30) got rid of Jaiswal, who had hit a stunning six just a ball earlier.
To keep the pressure on the Royals, SRH skipper Kane Williamson brought in star Afghan leg-spinner Rashid Khan (1/31) back into the attack and a mis-hit by Liam Livingstone (4) meant the move was met with the desired result.
With Lomror playing second fiddle to perfection, Samson took over the proceedings.
But Siddharth Kaul (2/36) bowled a great last over, dismissing Samson and Riyan Parag (0) to restrict the Royals to 164 after being hit for 20 runs in his third over.
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KKR land Green for record-breaking Rs 25.20 crore; Shaw, Sarfaraz go unsold
Abu Dhabi (PTI): Kolkata Knight Riders splurged a record-breaking Rs 25.20 to land top Australian all-rounder Cameron Green even as Indian stars Prithvi Shaw and Sarfaraz Khan went unsold in the Indian Premier League players' auction here on Tuesday.
Green surpassed compatriot Mitchell Starc (Rs 24.75 crore) to become the most expensive overseas player at an IPL auction. This was after Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings were involved in an intense bidding war for him before the latter emerged winner.
KKR also went after Venkatesh Iyer before pulling out of the race against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who fetched the services of the India all-rounder for Rs 7 crore.
As far as Green is concerned, his salary for the season would still be Rs 18 crore (USD 1.9 million) as the rest of the amount will go towards the BCCI's player development programme as per the rules of the auction for foreign players.
Green, who previously turned up for Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, has so far played 29 matches in the IPL to aggregate 707 runs and take 16 wickets.
Shaw, however, went unsold despite his fine run of form in the domestic circuit lately, and so was the case with Sarfaraz, who smashed a 22-ball 73 in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match for Mumbai on Tuesday.
Big-hitting South African batter David Miller was bought by Delhi Capitals for his base price of Rs 2 crore, but New Zealand swashbuckler Devon Conway, whose base price was also Rs 2 crore, went unsold in the auction.
Seasoned South African opener Quinton de Kock returned to his old base Mumbai Indians for a base price of Rs 1 crore.
A total of 359 players -- 246 Indians and 113 overseas players -- are part of the mini auction pool with the 10 franchises bidding to fill up a maximum of 77 slots, including 31 reserved for foreign players.
