‘Coin looked really nice so I pocketed it’

Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper, played a blinder on Monday at the Wankhede Stadium. He tried to take his team over the line, single-handedly, in the match against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the iconic venue, but his efforts went in vain.

The right-hander stayed unbeaten on 119 runs off 63 balls and his knock was crafted with 12 fours and seven sixes.

Despite ending on the losing side, Samson got the Player of the Match award. After the game, the youngster, instead of being disappointed, was upbeat.

The 26-year-old talked about a hilarious incident when he wanted to keep the coin, which was being used for the toss.

But match referee Manu Nayyar turned his request down.

"The coin looked really nice so I pocketed it, asked the referee if I can have it, but he said no," Samson was quoted as saying after the match.

Chasing 222, a number of the Royals' batters, Jos Buttler, Shivam Dube, and Riyan Parag, got into the 20s, but none could carry on. But Samson, at the other end, showed nerves of steel and brought up his century off 54 balls.

The Royals ended up losing the IPL match by four runs after Samson's valiant efforts. On his knock, Samson said that after finding it tough initially, he managed to gather momentum and scored big.

"I think the second part of the innings was the best I ever played, took my time and respected the bowlers, whereas in the first part I was not timing it very well. I took the singles and got into a rhythm and then I started to play my shots in the second half," he said.

"I enjoy my shots but I come back to the present after I play those shots. It automatically happens, when I focus on my skills and watch the ball and react. Sometimes I lose my wicket also, so I just play the same way. It's about trusting my processes to be honest, and I did that, and it came off tonight," Samson added.