Sanju Samson is best described as “underrated.” He is probably one of the few players whose legacy has been shaped more by playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) than by representing his country. Before joining the Rajasthan Royals, Samson had stints with the Delhi Daredevils and the Kolkata Knight Riders. During his first eight seasons with the Royals, the 28-year-old has established himself as a reliable player, scoring more than 3,000 runs and serving as captain.

Samson is an excellent cricketer who uses both his bat and gloves correctly behind the stumps. In 2021, he led Rajasthan to their second final of the cash-rich tournament, proving his worth as a captain. He keeps on being the heartbreaker of the Royals’ fans and has played a few mystical innings in the show-stopper competition.

Here's wishing @IamSanjuSamson a very happy birthday. 🎂 👏#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/fxyHp7gLJx

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 11, 2021

AS THE PLAYER CELEBRATES HIS 28TH, LET’S HAVE A GLANCE AT HIS IPL FEATS!

92 off 45 balls for Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, 2018

In 2018, Rajasthan returned to the IPL after serving a two-year ban. Samson’s night came in their 11th match of the season against Virat Kohli’s Bangalore team.

Ajinkya Rahane and D’Arcy Short, Rajasthan’s openers, batted first and put together a 49-run partnership for the first wicket. Samson entered the fray with the platform set and destroyed the bowlers from ball one. Samson finished with a 45-ball 92, demonstrating his precise timing and clean hitting. His efforts helped Rajasthan score 217 runs while losing four wickets. During his innings, Samson hit ten sixes. Despite the brave efforts of captain Kohli and Mandeep Singh, the Challengers lost by 19 runs.

85 off 42 balls for Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings XI, 2020

In the 2020 season, Rajasthan had a disappointing season. Despite having a few strong performances throughout their season, they finished last in the league. One of these matches was against the Punjab Kings XI led by KL Rahul.

Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, the Punjab openers, put together a huge opening partnership of 183 runs and led their team to a huge total of 223 runs. Due to the cheap loss of their star batter, Jos Buttler, the Royals did not have the best of starts.

Samson entered, emerging as a man on a mission. The Punjab bowlers were smashed all over the park by the right-handed batter, who went crazy. Samson hit seven sixes and four boundaries in his brilliant innings of 85 runs in 42 balls. Samson was named man of the match after Rajasthan was successful in reducing the enormous score.

119 off 63 balls for Rajasthan Royals vs Punjab Kings XI, 2021

In a high-scoring IPL 2021 match, Rajasthan faced Punjab Kings XI. Punjab chose to bat first after winning the toss. The Kings scored 220 runs thanks to strong exhibitions from KL Rahul, Deepak Hooda, and a short appearance from Chris Gayle.

Ben Stokes and Manan Vohra were bowled out by Rajasthan in a novel approach to begin the innings. But the plan backfired, and both of the openers ended up cheaply returning to the pavilion. Skipper Samson took charge and delivered an absolute hitting masterclass that evening. In an otherwise subpar performance by the remainder of the team, Samson finished with a ton, scoring 119 runs off just 63 balls. At one phase, he brought the conditions down to 13 off six deliveries, however neglected to get Rajasthan over the line.

Despite the immense pressure, it was a magnificent century.

102 off 63 balls for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiants, 2017

During the 2017 season, Samson scored his first century in the IPL. In his second season with the Delhi Daredevils, Samson scored 102 runs off 63 balls against Rising Pune Supergiants. He batted at number three and immediately took on the Pune bowling attack. Samson nailed eight fours and five sixes to reach his century.

His century helped his group to arrive at a 205-run all out in the specified 20 overs. The Rising Pune Supergiants responded by failing catastrophically and losing by a significant margin of 108 runs. As one of the youngest players to score a ton, Samson cemented his place in IPL history.

102 off 55 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Sunrisers Hyderabad, 2019

One of Sanju Samson’s best IPL runs came against Sun Risers Hyderabad in 2019, when he scored 102 runs. With the exception of Rashid Khan, Hyderabad’s bowlers were met with boundaries all over the field as Samson and Ajinkya Rahane put together a partnership of 119 runs to lead the team to a total of 198 runs in 20 overs.

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Samson continued his unbeaten run with a magnificent innings of 102 runs. He hit 10 fours and four sixes in his assault. In contrast, Sunrisers Hyderabad put on a show in the second innings, achieving the target in just 19 overs.