Sanju Samson, skipper of the Rajasthan Royals (RR), has been fined ₹12 lakh for sluggish over rate during the final-ball drama against the Gujarat Titans (GT) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday, April 10.
RR were late by five minutes, leading to a penalty in the final over. Avesh Khan had to defend 15 runs with restricted fielders outside the circle. Despite the thriller ending on the last ball, GT won due to Rashid Khan’s quick scoring. This ended RR’s winning start.
Throughout the season, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill have received fines for the same violation. Because it was RR’s first violation of the season, only captain Sanju Samson would be punished.
If the inaugural victors make the same error, the captain’s sanction will be quadrupled, and members of the playing XI will also be penalized. If the sluggish over rate is noticed for the third time this season, the skipper might face a match ban.
“As it was his team’s first offense of the season under the IPL’s Code of Conduct relating to minimum over rate offenses, Samson was fined ₹12 lakhs,” a release from the IPL stated
RR were in possession at one point after being entrusted with defending 197 for their sixth consecutive win.
GT appeared to be out of the chase after losing too many wickets in the middle overs, but Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan helped the team finish with the second-highest run chase in IPL history.
“196 was a winning score I thought” – Sanju Samson
RR had previously chased down 184 runs against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the same stadium, but there was heavy dew on that occasion. Although RR was without Nandre Burger for the match against GT, the hosts were expected to maintain the lead with no dew on offer.
After Kuldeep Sen and Yuzvendra Chahal combined for five wickets in the middle overs, it appeared that GT had left too much for the final overs yet again. However, 20 runs from the last over put Gujarat back in the game.
Sanju Samson said:
“It’s very hard to speak at the moment. It’s the hardest job when the team loses. After a few hours, I might be able to tell you where we exactly lost. I think to be honest, you have to give credit to the Gujarat Titans. That’s the beauty of this tournament so we can’t demand success. We have to take the learnings and move forward. When I was batting I thought somewhere around 180 would be good.”
Sanju Samson
RR will meet the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Saturday, April 13.
