Sanju Samson will have long and successful IPL with bat this year: Shane Watson

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) remain undefeated in the IPL 2024 by picking up a six wicket win over the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Saturday. Virat Kohli scored the first century of IPL 2024 and carried Bengaluru to 183 runs, but Jos Buttler responded with a century of his own to bring Rajasthan their fourth-straight win of the season. JioCinema IPL experts Shane Watson and Ajay Jadeja discussed the incredible knocks from Virat Kohli (113* runs), Jos Buttler (100* runs), and Sanju Samson (69 runs), exclusively on Match Centre Live.

Ajay Jadeja spoke on Virat Kohli - "He started out so well. He hit a couple of boundaries in the first few overs, and you knew you were watching something special tonight. The only surprising thing was him speaking about how the deliveries were not carrying through on this pitch, but the way he batted, we didn't see any shortcomings in the pitch. In terms of his shot-making, no corner of the ground was left where he didn't smash the ball. What he said made us think something might be wrong with the pitch, but the way he played, there wasn't a single shortcoming that could be seen”. 

Shane Watson spoke on Jos Buttler and his partnership with Sanju Samson - "It was really impressive. Everyone knows he's been a little bit light on runs in the first few games and looked a little bit off as well, but once he got through the first 10-11 balls today, you could see he had found his groove. His mojo was back, he was timing the ball beautifully. That's the very best of Jos. He had great support from Sanju Samson as well. For him to back up a great first game and then score 69 runs tonight in a 148-run partnership with Jos was something very special. So, Sanju is going to get a lot out of this innings as well. What a partnership at a critical time to be able to chase those runs down."

Watson on Sanju Samson - "He showed intent from ball one in his own cool, calm, collected way. A 130 strike rate in the first 10 balls means you're not just trying to get ones. You're waiting for a loose ball and he did put it away straight away and because of the skill he's got, he's playing the ball on its merit. If a bowler bowls a slightly loose ball, because of all the shot options that Sanju Samson has got, he scores very freely. You can see the calmness in him, and he continues to do that game after game, there's no reason he can't have a very successful tournament. I'm actually predicting he'll have a long and successful IPL with the bat this year."