IPL 2021: "Sanju Samson's century impressed me the most" - Reetinder Sodhi

Reetinder Singh Sodhi has picked Sanju Samson's century against the Punjab Kings as the best knock played by an Indian batsman in IPL 2021.

Sanju Samson scored a belligerent 119 runs off just 63 deliveries in the Rajasthan Royals' opening match of IPL 2021. However, he couldn't take his team over the line, as he was dismissed off the last ball and the inaugural IPL champions fell short by four runs.

During a discussion on India News, Reetinder Sodhi chose Sanju Samson's ton as the most impressive knock from an Indian player in this year's IPL when asked about the same.

"This is a very difficult question because lots of such knocks were played in the IPL, whether you talk about Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan or Devdutt Padikkal. So, the Indian players have done well but if one has to single out, Sanju Samson's century impressed me the most," said Sodhi.

The under-15 World Cup-winning Indian skipper pointed out that it is a tough ask to score a century in the shortest format of the game and lauded Sanju Samson's pleasing strokeplay.

"It is not easy to score a century in T20 cricket. You have to go with the word go from the first ball. You have to hit boundaries and sixes and take quick singles. Sanju Samson is a player, when he plays, time stops," added Sodhi.

The Punjab Kings set a massive 222-run target for the Rajasthan Royals at the Wankhede. Sanju Samson took his side to the doorsteps of victory but perished off the last ball, caught at deep extra cover off Arshdeep Singh while trying to hit the winning six.

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"Sanju Samson will definitely have to work on his consistency" - Reetinder Sodhi

While expecting greater consistency from Sanju Samson, Reetinder Sodhi observed that the Rajasthan Royals' fortunes are closely tied to those of the stylish right-hander.

"He will definitely have to work on his consistency and he has a huge impact on his team. When Sanju Samson scores runs, more often than not Rajasthan wins but when he doesn't score runs, he had a few lean matches after the century and Rajasthan did not do well," said Sodhi.

The former India all-rounder signed off by stating that while there is no doubting Sanju Samson's talent, he will have to learn the trait of consistency from some of the stalwarts of the modern game.

"We talk about Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan because these players are consistent. Sanju Samson will have to learn from their books. He is very talented, we all know that he can win matches on his day but he will have to improve his consistency," concluded Sodhi.

Sanju Samson scored a total of 26 runs in his next three knocks after his century against the Punjab Kings. However, he did compile useful forties in his last three innings of IPL 2021, two of which resulted in wins for the Jaipur-based franchise.