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Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson has defended his decision to deny Chris Morris the strike on the penultimate ball of the team's match against Punjab Kings. Samson said on Sunday that the decision had 'nothing to do with ego' and was based on what the situation warranted.
With five runs needed to win off the last two balls of a mammoth chase, Sanju Samson denied Chris Morris an easy single and preserved the strike for the last ball. Samson was batting at 119 and apparently didn't trust his just-arrived partner enough to leave him to hit a boundary.
Writing in his column for the Hindustan Times, Sanju Samson suggested that such incidents, where a set batsman denies the strike to his partner in the death overs, will also be repeated in the future.
"...my final thought on the denied single is this: the game is evolving and very soon in the future you won’t be seeing singles being attempted at that stage. If a batsman fancies a particular bowler, he should farm the strike and go for it. It has absolutely nothing to do with ego; just the simple demands of the moment and the team. Winning is everything," said Sanju Samson.
Unfortunately for the Rajasthan Royals, the call backfired and Sanju Samson fluffed to clear the boundary on the last ball.
Chris Morris, on the other hand, proved his class by playing a match-winning cameo in the next game against the Delhi Capitals.
Sanju Samson talks through the on-field conversations with Chris Morris
Sanju Samson also disclosed some of his on-field conversations with Chris Morris during the final overs of the match against Punjab Kings.
He revealed that the duo were 'absolutely clear' in their collective decision to let Sanju Samson hog the strike owing to his superb form.
"To begin with, we were talking while the situation was unfolding itself. So, just before the 19th over began, we made it clear that I will be taking most of the strike; that even if I couldn’t hit a four or a six, we would be looking for twos to get me back on strike," said Sanju Samson.
The 26-year-old further added in this regard:
"It was only natural that we would be doing the same in the final over as well. This was clear to Morris, me and the team management. Therefore, no, I did not have to go to him after the game and explain myself for not taking the single off the penultimate ball – it was absolutely clear to both of us. Look, cricket is a really funny game. That night, I was also striking it so cleanly and still ended up getting out for a cheap score in the very next match. It was the reverse for Chris. He was finding it a bit tough to strike the ball against Punjab but everything was coming out of the middle of the bat versus Delhi."
Rajasthan Royals will now play three-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings on April 19 in Mumbai.
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