IPL 2021: Sanju Samson curbs attacking instinct for more consistent returns

Sanju Samson hit a fine 57-ball 82, even as the Rajasthan Royals (RR) slipped to a seven-wicket defeat against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Monday night. Following his brilliant knock, Samson went atop the runscoring charts in IPL 2021.

In his first season as Rajasthan Royals captain, Samson has led from the front with the bat, with his team firmly in contention to reach the playoffs. In that effort, he is close to marking his personal best IPL season with the bat as well.

So what has changed for him?

Samson is someone who believed that he could make the most impact by going hard right from the start.

It was that mentality that saw him hit the fastest double-century in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and score three centuries in the IPL, including one in his first match of the season.

But Samson has mostly always started his IPL campaigns on a breathtaking note, only to fade away after the first three or four matches. He came under the scanner for playing rash shots early in his innings and was accused of throwing away his wicket on too many occasions.

The pattern seemed to continue this season as well, as his form took a dip after his hundred against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the opening game. The IPL was then halted abruptly in May due to COVID-19 concerns. The break, however, seemed to have come as a blessing for Samson.

Since the season resumed last week in the UAE, Samson seems to have taken a different approach to his game. Probably taking a leaf out of Virat Kohli or KL Rahul's book, Samson, in the second phase of IPL 2021 has decided to be the anchor for his team and not just a slap-dash aggressor.

Against the Delhi Capitals (DC), he batted at a strike rate of less than 100 for large parts of his knock before accelerating towards the end. It proved to be too little too late in their chase, as he found no support from his teammates.

Against SRH, he was on 38 off 36 balls, before reaching his half-century in five more deliveries and then hit 32 runs in the next 17 balls.

The fact that the Royals are without two of their batting mainstays in Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes for the rest of the season might have prompted Samson to take on more responsibility. The change in gear has led to improved performances, but it's yet to translate into wins.

However, with the Royals fighting for playoff places, they will need Samson to keep scoring, and hope that the rest of the team complements him and gives him some support.

Sanju Samson's IPL 2021 season in numbers

Sanju Samson has scored 433 runs in 10 matches this season. His personal best IPL season was in 2018, when he scored 441 runs in 15 matches. He is well on course to better that record this time around.

His average this season is 54.12, a marked improvement on his averages in any of the previous seasons. In 2019, Samson averaged 34.20 - his best in an IPL season - while in 2020 it was 28.84.

The trade-off, however, is there for all to see. In 2019 and 2020, he struck at 148.69 and 158.89 respectively, while this season, his strike rate has been 141.96.

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Samson never scored more than three centuries and fifties combined in a single IPL season. But in IPL 201, he has already scored a century and two half-centuries. He is on track to improve on that front as well.

The Royals have four more matches to go and Samson will be central to their hopes of reaching the playoffs after several disappointing campaigns.They are currently sixth in the table, but are among the four teams stuck on eight points.