Sanju Samson highest score in IPL

Sanju Samson was seen as a talent powerhouse right from the time he made his debut in the Indian Premier League with the Rajasthan Royals as a teenager in 2013.

Sanju Samson’s IPL career started with an unbeaten 27 off 23 balls when he guided the Royals home by six wickets in a tricky chase against Kings XI Punjab at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in 2013.

Samson scored his first fifty in the IPL the same season with 63 off 41 balls and helping the Royals pull off a four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore.

The wicketkeeper-batter who hails from Kerala, Samson scored his first IPL hundred for Rajasthan Royals in 2019 with an unbeaten 102 against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He went on to score yet another two seasons later.

Sanju Samson’s highest score in the IPL is 119, which came against Punjab Kings in 2021. Incidentally, both his hundreds came in a losing cause for the Royals.

Here are his top knocks in the tournament.

119 off 63 balls vs Punjab Kings, IPL 2021

Samson’s highest individual score in the IPL came in his first season as captain of Rajasthan Royals. It was against Punjab Kings in 2021 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai where the Royals were chasing 222 for the win.

Samson came to the crease in the fourth ball of the chase, which became 78/3 by the eighth over. The Rajasthan Royals captain, however, stood his ground and scored a resolute fifty in 33 balls. As the scoring rate went up, so did Samson’s aggression. He scored 54 runs in the last 19 balls he faced. In the final over, 13 runs were needed for the win. After a couple of singles, Samson hit the fourth ball for a six. With another maximum needed off the final ball, he was unable to clear deep cover and was caught out. The Royals fell short by four runs. Samson’s innings comprised 12 fours and seven sixes, and a strike rate of 188.88. Unsurprisingly, he was named Player of the Match.

“The second part of my innings was my best IPL performance,” Samson said later. “ I went back to the basics, communicated with my partners, accepted they were bowling well, rotated strike early and got into my rhythm.

“When I am in the zone, and watching the ball well, the sixes come out naturally, and in that process, I tend to lose my wickets also. Happy to play that way no matter what. Batting long is mainly about trusting yourself and the process. I didn't do anything extra. My mind was playing, not my body.”

102* off 55 balls vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, IPL 2019

Rajasthan Royals opted to bat first against the Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Sanju Samson joined skipper Ajinkya Rahane at the centre in the fourth over with the score at 15/1.

They put together a huge 119-run partnership for the second wicket off just 75 balls to calm the early nerves. Samson was the early aggressor as he brought up his fifty in 32 balls.

Sanju Samson effortlessly upped the ante further as he scored 41 off only 12 balls to bring up the three-figure mark adorned with 10 fours and four sixes. His knock came at an impressive strike rate of 185.45 as the Royals put up 198/2.

This was Sanju Samson’s first century for Rajasthan Royals but went in vain as SRH won by five wickets with an over to spare.

102 off 63 balls vs Rising Pune Supergiant, IPL 2017

Sanju Samson scored his maiden century in the IPL for the erstwhile Delhi Daredevils in 2017. Batting first against Rising Pune Supergiant at the MCA Stadium in Pune, Delhi were 2/1 in the second over of the innings before Samson got involved in another rescue act.

Samson scored the bulk of the 69-run second-wicket partnership to set the ball rolling for a huge Delhi total. He brought up his century in style scoring a six off Adam Zampa.

Though Samson was dismissed the next ball, the damage was already done. His 63-ball 102 included eight fours and five sixes and powered Delhi to 205/4.

In reply, RPS folded out for 108 with Delhi winning the match by 97 runs. Sanju Samson was adjudged Player of the Match for his match-winning century, his first in the IPL.

Sanju Samson’s highest scores in IPL

Year	Opponent	Venue	Score	Balls	Strike Rate	Result
2021	PBKS	Mumbai	119	63	188.88	Lost by 4 runs
2019	SRH	Hyderabad	102*	55	185.45	Lost by 5 wickets
2017	RPG*	Pune	102	63	161.90	Won by 97 runs
2018	RCB	Bengaluru	92*	45	204.44	Won by 19 runs
2020	KXIP	Sharjah	85	42	202.38	Won by 4 wickets