IPL 2024, PBKS vs RR Strategic Corner - PBKS' Plan To Trap Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson has been in great form in IPL 2024 [AP Photos]Sanju Samson has been in great form in IPL 2024 [AP Photos]

The Punjab Kings will face a crucial challenge when they play the Rajasthan Royals at their home in the 27th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024). The match, a battle of wits and skills, is scheduled for April 13th at the Mullanpur International Cricket Stadium at 7:30 PM IST. 

The Punjab Kings have played great cricket in the tournament. However, their position in the points table does not reflect the brand of cricket they have represented. The Kings will be eager to swing the pendulum in their way and climb up the ladder in the points table with a win in this game. However, one of the biggest barriers for the Kings in this game would be Sanju Samson, the RR skipper. 


Why Sanju Samson will be a threat for the Punjab Kings?

  • The RR skipper has been in brilliant form in IPL 2024. Sanju Samson has already scored 246 runs in the tournament from five innings at an average of 82 and a strike rate of 157.69. The momentum is with Samson, and he would like to ride on that and play an impactful role for his team. 
  • The RR skipper has a decent record against the Punjab Kings. Sanju Samson has scored 190 runs in five innings against the Kings at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 175.90. 
  • Thus, Samson's number and form indicate that he could prove very dangerous for the Kings in this game. Shikhar Dhawan needs to have a plan against Samson so that PBKS can see his back before he becomes too dangerous.


Plan against Sanju Samson

Sanju Samson has been very dominant in IPL 2024. He has looked solid, and no weakness or pattern in his three dismissals has been noticed. So, we will take a look at the data of his dismissals in IPL 2023. 

Bowler Type
Dismissals
Left-arm Wrist Spinner2
Left-arm Orthodox1
Right-arm Legspinner1
Left-arm Medium3
Left-arm Fast Medium1
Right-arm Medium2
Right-arm Fast Medium1

This table shows us which type of bowler has been successful against Sanju Samson in IPL 2023. An interesting thing to note here is that four of his 11 dismissals came against the spinners. This might not look too significant, so let us delve deeper and see what the type of deliveries by the spinners were that led to Sanju’s departure in IPL 2023. 

Ball Type
Dismissals
Wrong One2
Arm Ball1
Leg Spin1

The stats suggest that Sanju has struggled when the ball has carried on with the angle or has turned away from him. Well, PBKS does not have a left-arm wrist spinner, and their only right-arm wrist spinner, Rahul Chahar, has found no rhythm in the tournament. So, the prime weapon for PBKS in this game against Sanju should be Harpreet Brar. As we see, Samson was dismissed twice by the left-arm orthodox bowler on an arm ball, it shows that he struggles a bit when the ball comes in with the angle to him