IPL 2021: Sanju Samson leaves the match referee to wonder as he keeps the coin in his pocket after the toss
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Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson, the captain of the Rajasthan Royals, had an unusual and amusing start to his captaincy as he went for the toss on the eve of their IPL 2021 season opener against the Punjab Kings. Sanju Samson took over as captain from Steve Smith ahead of the IPL 2021 season, as the Rajasthan Royals attempt to rebuild their fortunes. Having won the coin toss, the Kerala batsman kept the coin in his pocket.
After the match referee tossed the coin up which fell in the favour of Sanju who gently placed the coin back in his pocket and declared to Michael Slater his decision to field first.
When asked by Harsha Bhogle about the coin toss incident Sanju said, “The coin (at the toss) looked brilliant, so I pocketed it. I asked the referee if I can have it, but he said no.”
This was the first time such a thing has happened in the Indian Premier League.
Rajasthan Royals fell short by just 4 runs
Though Rajasthan Royals won the toss and fielded first at the Wankhede Stadium, they were at the receiving end of an onslaught by the Punjab Kings’ batters. KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda oversaw this fantastic batting performance and guided Punjab to 221/6.
In return, Rajasthan did not lose their hopes to chase the massive target. They have done that in the previous year and were confident to replicate the same. Coming out to bat early after losing Stokes in the first over, Skipper Samson took the responsibility on himself and played a captain’s knock. Eventually, he became the first player to hit a century on his captaincy debut. But unfortunately, his masterful innings went in vain as Arshdeep Singh held his nerves to defend five runs off the last ball.
Sanju Samson had mixed emotions after the match but in the end, it was an exciting game of cricket. And this performance would have boosted his morale as a captain as well as a batsman. Rajasthan Royals will take on Delhi Capitals in their next fixture on 15th April at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
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Mohamed Azhar
(370 Articles Published)