The leader of Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson, got in trouble. He has to pay a fine of 30% of his match money. This happened because Samson broke the rules of IPL during the game against Delhi Capitals. The game took place at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
Sanju Samson was guilty of a Level 1 offense under Article 2.8 of the conduct rules. Article 2.8 means showing disagreement with the umpire’s decision. Samson accepted that he did something wrong. He also accepted the punishment given by the match referee.
Sanju Samson, who top-scored for RR with 86 off 46 balls, was caught at long on by Shai Hope off Mukesh Kumar’s bowling in the 16th over of their 222-run chase. Hope caught the ball near to the boundary edge and briefly slipped before regaining his feet. Unsure if his foot hit the boundary cushions, the on-field umpires brought in TV umpire Michael Gough, who determined that Hope caught the catch cleanly.
Sanju Samson then have a lengthy talk with on-field umpires KN Ananthapadmanabhan and Ulhas Gandhe before departing the field.
The dismissal was a watershed moment in the match, with RR’s prospects of exceeding their mark resting completely on Sanju Samson’s shoulders – they required 60 off 27 balls when he was removed.
RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara sympathised with the third umpire for having to make a difficult decision.
“It depends on replays and angles, and sometimes you think the foot’s touched,” he said at his post-match press conference. “But it is a difficult one for the third umpire to judge. The game was at a crucial stage, so that happens in cricket. We have different perspectives on it. At the end of the day, you have to stand by that decision in terms of what the umpires did. If we have any other kind of opinion on it, we will share it with the umpire and sort it out. But irrespective of that dismissal, we still should have probably seen that game home.”
Kumar Sangakkara
Capitals assistant coach Pravin Amre praised Hope for recovering his footing and completing the grab.
“In IPL some moments are very crucial, and it [Hope’s catch] was a deciding moment in the game,” Amre said. “Sanju was batting so well. We have to give credit to the way Hope judged that catch, he balanced himself [well] with that. Umpires are there, and there is so much technology. Once he is given out by the third umpire, it was more [clear]. We also thought from the dugout that he has [touched the boundary cushions] but it [happens] in the game, and the umpire’s decision is the final decision. It wasn’t an easy catch, it was really travelling. After the game also I spoke [to Hope], he anticipated that very well, but he said the ball came very, very fast.”
Pravin Amre
Rajasthan Royals crumbled after Sanju Samson’s wicket
When Sanju Samson was at the bat and the team required 60 runs off 33 balls, RR handled the situation admirably. However, from 162-4 at the time of his wicket, they fell to 194-8 in less than four overs, eventually losing by 20 runs.
Rajasthan is currently in a good position on the points table, with 16 points in second place keeping their chances of finishing in the top two alive.