Rajasthan Royals head coach and director of cricket Kumar Sangakkara lauded skipper Sanju Samson for bringing out his attacking game against Gujarat Titans' leg-spinner Rashid Khan, saying the 'hat-trick' of sixes he hit against him was the game-changer in swinging the momentum in their favour.
With 112 more runs off 48 balls, not many gave Rajasthan a chance for a victory as they were 66/4 in 12 overs. But Samson unleashed by taking 20 runs off Rashid Khan in the 13th over via a hat-trick of sixes to eventually make 60 while Shimron Hetmyer smashed a whirlwind unbeaten 56 off just 26 balls to give Rajasthan an improbable three-wicket victory.
"Not just you got us through the powerplay, but that Rashid Khan over and then how you kicked on from there, that was the game changer. Their best bowler, some say the best T20 spinner in the world, was completely caught off the guard," said Sangakkara in a post-game video by the franchise on their social media accounts.
The stunning last-over heist also means Rajasthan retain their top spot on the points table with eight points. Samson and Hetmyer added a crucial stand of 59 runs off 27 balls, followed by the latter adding 47 runs off 20 deliveries with Dhruv Jurel to complete the chase with four balls to spare.
"It just goes to show that when you are in the game, anything is possible. Whether it is Rashid Khan, Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan, it doesn't matter when we're in the game. We play the ball, not the man. Again, brilliantly done," added Sangakkara.
Rajasthan's next game in IPL 2023 will be against Lucknow Super Giants in their first home game of the season at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium on Wednesday.