Sanju Samson gave Rajasthan Royals a glimmer of hope with a captain’s knock. Shimron Hetmyer then played a trademark blinder to help Rajasthan Royals avenge the 2022 Indian Premier League final loss against Gujarat Titans in style on Sunday.
Riding on the duo’s power-packed innings, the Royals crossed the target of 178 runs with four balls to spare.
When Hetmyer took guard, the Royals were tottering at 55 for four in the 11th over and a fourth consecutive defeat versus Titans was looming large. But Samson - timing the ball at his best - started clearing the fence effortlessly. His hat-trick off sixes off Rashid Khan was a treat to watch.
Hetmyer soon joined the party and went after fellow Caribbean Alzarri Joseph’s pace. Even after Samson perished to left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad - debuting in IPL as an Impact Player - Hetmyer continued to control the chase.
Despite Mohammed Shami accounting for Dhruv Jurel and Ravichandran Ashwin in the penultimate over, crucial hits by the lower order batters meant Hetmyer had to score seven runs off the last over.
It took him two balls off Noor to complete the formalities, fittingly ending the night with a six over wide long-on.
Earlier in the night, Shubman Gill played the sheet anchor to near-perfection. Captain Hardik Pandya pressed the accelerator in the middle. Abhinav Manohar and David Miller then provided the final flourish. As a result, the Titans notched up an imposing total of 177 for seven at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
However, the Royals ensured the Titans didn’t have a decisive or long partnership which meant the innings turned out to be an essay without a peak.
In the end, that proved to be the difference as Samson and Hetmyer’s knocks made all the difference.
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