IPL 2023: Sanju Samson Strike Rate Reads Alarming 196.75 In Opening Matches Since 2020

Add as a preferred source on Google

Sanju Samson's IPL 2023 journey was off to a blistering start at the Rajasthan Royals captain scored 55 runs off 32 balls in the side's opening match of the season against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.

The innings was in line with the Kerala batters' habit of scoring big runs in the first match of the IPL since 2020. Sanju Samson has now scored 303 runs in all of his opening IPL games since the pandemic at an average of 75.75 while striking at an alarming rate of 196.75.

Sanju Samson's half-century in the IPL 2022 opening match also came against the Sunrisers and proved pivotal in a big-margin win. His performances in the opening matches of IPL before the 2023 seasons are as below:

IPL 2020: 74 (32) vs Chennai Super Kings (RR won by 16 runs)
IPL 2021: 119 (63) vs Punjab Kings (PBKS won by 4 runs)
IPL 2022: 55 (27) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (RR won by 61 runs)

Sanju Samson's half-century on Sunday helped Royals post 203/5 in the first innings and came after openers Jos Buttler (54) and Yashashvi Jaiswal (54) gave the last year's finalist the start they were looking for. West Indies' Shimron Hetmyer also contributed a 16-ball 22 down the order as Rajasthan Royals left a good impression with the bat in their opening match.

The wicketkeeper batter, however, has struggled to maintain consistency in his performance with the bat and has been often regarded as a flat-track bully. His strike rate and form taper down as the season progresses with the pitches also getting slower and difficult to bat on.

This has been a concern for the Indian international and one of the reasons for his criticism. In the last three seasons, he aggregated read unconvincing 312 (2022), 354 (2021), and 236 (2020) runs respectively despite the brilliant start. It has often resulted in him in struggling to maintain his spot in the Indian team while facing cutthroat competition from the likes of Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, and Dinesh Karthik.