"He has started every season with a fifty for the last 5-6 years" - Aakash Chopra lauds Sanju Samson's knock in RR's IPL 2024 win vs LSG

Aakash Chopra has lauded Sanju Samson for consistently playing substantial knocks in the Rajasthan Royals' (RR) season openers across the last few editions of the Indian Premier League.

Samson smashed an unbeaten 82 off 52 as the Royals posted 193-4 in their IPL 2024 clash against the Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur on Sunday, March 24. RR then restricted LSG to 173-6 to start their campaign with a win.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked three standout performers from the RR-LSG clash. Choosing Samson as the topmost, he said (15:00):

"The first is Rajasthan's captain Sanju Samson - what a player. He has started every season with a fifty for the last five-six years, and he did that this time as well. He didn't stop at fifty but converted it into a bigger knock, which you will always expect from him as he is a very good player."

"If you watch Sanju Samson play from a neutral position, you feel he is class. The batting talent he has, the ability to time the ball he has, and the time he has, he looks like a million dollars. So he batted extremely well," the former India opener added.

Samson has posted 50-plus scores, including a hundred in IPL 2021, in RR's opening games in the last five editions of the prestigious league.

Chopra also praised Riyan Parag for scoring a crucial 29-ball 43. He opined that this could be the RR youngster's breakthrough season.

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"It seemed for a long time that he might win the match alone" - Aakash Chopra on Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas Pooran smashed an unbeaten 64 off 41 balls. [P/C: iplt20.com]

Aakash Chopra chose Nicholas Pooran as the Lucknow Super Giants' star performer for the valiant knock he played.

"At No. 2, I am keeping Nicholas Pooran. Lucknow did not get off to as good a start as they wanted but then came a storm named Nicholas Pooran.

"When he hits, he hits differently. It seemed for a long time that he might win the match alone. If only he had got a little more help from the other end," he elaborated (16:20).

The reputed commentator picked Sandeep Sharma (1-22 in three overs) as the game-changer with the ball for the Rajasthan Royals.

"Sandeep Sharma is my third player of the match. He was brilliant. The way he bowled in the end when it seemed like the match was turning towards Lucknow, he pulled it back towards them (RR)," Chopra stated.

Chopra noted that KL Rahul needs to finish games for LSG. He claimed that the LSG captain and Sanju Samson's batting positions aren't doing them any favors in terms of their T20 World Cup selections as wicketkeeper-batters.