Twitter Reactions: Samson's 92 powers RR to 217 in the Royal derby

The stage was all set for the Royal derby at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. The hosts, Royal Challengers Bangalore, hosted the Rajasthan Royals in the iconic ‘green’ game of the home side. The RCB team turned out in green outfits and the customary gifting of plant sapling took place at the toss. RCB skipper Virat Kohli handed over the sapling to the Royals skipper Ajinkya Rahane.

The home skipper won the toss and opted to bowl first. RCB went ahead with a change in their side, replacing Sarfaraz Khan with Pawan Negi. On the other hand, there were no signs of Jofra Archer in the RR lineup. They fielded an unchanged eleven. In walked the Rajasthan Royals openers to kick start the proceedings on the day. The struggle of D Arcy Short continued and he failed to score yet again.

On the other hand, Ajinkya Rahane looked very good for his quick 36 off 20 balls. But the real impetus to the innings was given by Sanju Samson. Samson, who came in to bat at number three, scored a brilliant fifty on the day. He was unfortunate to have missed out on a well deserved century in the game. Samson remained unbeaten on 92 off just 45 deliveries with a couple of fours and 10 maximums.

His stupendous knock saw the Rajasthan Royals post a huge 217 on the board in the stipulated 20 overs. Also, he found good support from the English duo of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. They played decent cameos of 27 and 23 respectively to play the second fiddle to Samson in the innings. Also, in the final over, Rahul Tripathi came up with a lovely little cameo to give another boost to the batting explosion.

Tripathi remained unbeaten on 14 off 5 deliveries with a four and a six to his name. Meanwhile, the RCB bowlers had a tough time on the day. Umesh Yadav conceded 59 runs in his four overs and Chris Woakes gave away 47 runs in his quota of four overs. Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the RCB bowlers with 2/22 to his name in four overs.

Here is how the fans reacted to the Rajasthan Royals innings:

This is Rajasthan's highest IPL score against RCB… terrific effort by their batsmen! @rajasthanroyals #RCBvRR #IPL2018

— Navneet Mundhra (@navneet_mundhra) April 15, 2018

Umesh rn pic.twitter.com/gpqXRGQFfc

— Swagshank (@zZoker) April 15, 2018

#UdtaUmesh back to normal.

RCB be like – pic.twitter.com/KDg1rZAOuW

— Nikhil ? (@CricCrazyNIKS) April 15, 2018

That was a special innings from Sanju Samson. Great Vishu gift. Love watching him bat. 217 even for RCB’s formidable batting line up is a daunting total #RCBvRR

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 15, 2018

Dont worry Arcey Bees, Gayle will knock this off in 12 overs… #ipl

— Innocent Bystander (@InnoBystander) April 15, 2018

Samson is the most non violent six hitter you can hope to see #RCBvRR

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) April 15, 2018

Bring back Anushka pls.

— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) April 15, 2018

Ee sala cup namade????? #IPL

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) April 15, 2018

Effortless six hitting!! Lazy elegance about each of his last few hits Sanju Samson. Clearing the ropes with ease. Fantastic innings. This will take some getting @RCBTweets #RCBvRR

— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) April 15, 2018

With this outstanding hitting by Sanju Samson, I am surprised to see RCB's jersey hasn't turned red yet. #IPL

— Silly Point ?‏ (@FarziCricketer) April 15, 2018

Sanju Samson…
61 (31b) for DD v GL (Delhi) in 2017 (7 sixes, 0 fours)
92* (45b) for RR v RCB (Bangalore) in 2018 (10 sixes, 2 fours)#RCBvRR#IPL2018

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) April 15, 2018

What an innings @IamSanjuSamson. #smashingsamson

— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) April 15, 2018

So UMESH YADAV was a SCAM afterall? #IPL

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) April 15, 2018

Sanju Samson ???. Serious player.

— Tymal Mills (@tmills15) April 15, 2018

What a knock by Sanju Samson! RCB need something special from their top 4 to chase this down.

— Abhay Gupta (@Abhay00) April 15, 2018

Few days ago, Umesh Yadav bowled one of the best spells in his IPL career. His bowling figures today 4-0-59-0 #RCBvRR

— Gav Joshi (@Gampa_cricket) April 15, 2018

RCBians: Eeh Sala Cup Namde

ABD: ??#KXIPvDD #IPL2018 pic.twitter.com/FOZiwrlelH

— Devvrat Unadkat (@DevvratUnadkat) April 8, 2018

"Sanju samson is a promising player & will be a star for India " ~ IPL, every year

— Jalandar (@scriblng) April 15, 2018

Because of Sanju Samson, things have gone Wrogn for Kohli. #IPL

— Keh Ke Peheno (@coolfunnytshirt) April 15, 2018

Treat to watch @IamSanjuSamson ✅great timer of the cricket ball.. ? @rajasthanroyals vs @RCBTweets @IPL

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 15, 2018

Sanju Samson is an unbelievable player … makes it look far too easy … he is going to be a superstar .. @rajasthanroyals #IPL #India

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) April 15, 2018

Most runs in the last 5 overs of an IPL innings:

112 runs – RCB vs GL, 2016
88 runs – RCB vs MI, 2015
88 runs – RR vs RCB, Today#RCBvRR #IPL2018

— Sampath Bandarupalli (@SampathStats) April 15, 2018

Now that is what you expect from a player of the undeniable class of Sanju Samson. Not pretty 30s and 40s but biggies. What an innings this was…

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 15, 2018

Sanju Samson's last eight balls today:

6, 6, 6, 4, 4, 6, 6, 1 #RCBvRR

— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) April 15, 2018

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