KOLKATA: Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson is now the highest scorer for the team with 2,812 runs under his belt. He has overtaken Ajinkya Rahane who held this record, but now plays for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Samson achieved the feat in Qualifier 1 match against Gujarat Titans at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday. Though Rajasthan Royals lost the match, they still have a chance of making it to the finals of the league.
Samson scored a quickfire 47 of just 26 in the match and Jos Buttler too displayed heroics with 89 of 56 balls. Devdutt Padikkal pitched in with 28 of 20 balls that took RR to a challenging total of 188/6 in their 20 overs.
However, GT chased the target with three balls to spare largely due to a 106-run stand between captain Hardik Pandya (40*) and David Miller (68*)
Samson has represented Rajasthan Royals in 108 matches and has scored 2,812 runs at an average of 29.91. The wicketkeeper-batter has scored two centuries and 14 half-centuries and 119 is his highest score in the IPL.
Ajinkya Rahane had scored 2,810 runs. The other top scorers for Rajasthan Royals are Shane Watson (2,372), Jos Buttler (2,159) and Rahul Dravid (1,276).
Samson has also played for Delhi Capitals in 2016-17 and his overall total in IPL is 3,489 runs at an average of 29.32. Three hundreds and 17 half-centuries have come out of his bat, with the best score of 119. He sits at No. 17 in the list of top-run scorers.
In the current season, Samson has played several crucial innings for his side. In 15 innings in this season so far, he has scored 421 runs at an average of 30.07 and strike rate of 150.35. He has scored two half-centuries with 55 his best individual score.
Rajasthan Royals will take on the winner of the Eliminator between Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Qualifier 2 at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Qualifier 2 will provide RR with another chance to book their slot in the finals of the prestigious league. (ANI)