‘Form’ is a word that can’t be found in Sanju Samson’s dictionary right now. Known for his fluency on the crease and how easy he looks on the eye, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain can’t time the ball right now. And things got even worse for him on a slow Jaipur wicket against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Sanju Samson struggles against RCB
Samson played the entire powerplay against RCB, facing 19 balls in the process. And how many runs did he score? Just 15. He wasn’t even able to strike at 80. His opening partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal, in the same period, scored 32 (22). Basically twice as quick as him. But that’s what’s been going on with Samson since the start of the IPL 2025 season.
GONE! Breakthrough for #RCB!
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) April 13, 2025
Smart stuff from #KrunalPandya as he tricks #SanjuSamson in the flight and gets him stumped!
Watch the LIVE actionhttps://t.co/1NaokWYtXf#IPLonJioStar
#RRvRCB | LIVE NOW on Star Sports 2, Star Sports 2 Hindi & JioHotstar! pic.twitter.com/H3VFUfqZX1
Sanju Samson in IPL 2025
Vs Sunrisers Hyderabad: 66 (37)
Vs Kolkata Knight Riders: 13 (11)
Vs Chennai Super Kings: 20 (16)
Vs Punjab Kings: 38 (26)
Vs Gujarat Titans: 41 (28)
Vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 15 (19)
Overall: 193 (137) (Average: 32.16 and Strike Rate: 140.87)
His best innings in the tournament wasn’t that great either. His 66 (37) against the Sunrisers Hyderabad may not look bad, but once you add a little context, you realise it was a match-losing knock. You see, RR needed 287 runs to win in 20 overs. Samson played 6.1 overs and scored just 66 runs. This left others to score 221 runs in 13.5 overs.
Not only that, but the other two wicketkeepers in the match, Ishan Kishan and Dhruv Jurel, scored 2 runs per ball at least. Samson didn’t even strike at 160. And he’s scored the 20-run mark since then thrice. But look at the final scores. Samson isn’t a player who slows down. He continues to strike quickly. That just hasn’t happened in IPL 2025. At least not yet.
