IPL 2022 | Final | GT vs RR | Sanju Samson following the footsteps of MS Dhoni

Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 has reached its summit clash. The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will play host to the all-important finale of the IPL as Gujarat Titans (GT) take on Rajasthan Royals (RR).

While GT has been clinical with their performance throughout the tournament, RR has been dramatic with their performances. Jos Buttler has been the prime architect for them in the batting department, and Yuzvendra Chahal has been their main weapon in bowling. 

But the man who has been silently working behind the team and leading them quietly to the final is Sanju Samson. He has been great with tactical decisions and has made some valuable contributions with the bat.

While talking about Sanu’s captaincy, let us look at his overall record as a captain.

Sanju Samson Overall Captaincy record:

Matches: 30 Won: 15 Lost: 15 Win%: 50%

Sanju Samson Captaincy in IPL 2022

Matches: 16 Won: 10 Lost: 6 Win%: 62.5%

The record speaks of Sanju Samson maturing as a captain. He is getting a grasp of the job at hand and is gradually excelling in the role.

Let us look at Sanju, the batter while leading the team.

Sanju Samson’s overall batting record as captain

Matches: 30 Runs Scored: 928 50s: 4 100s: 1 RPI: 30.93

Sanju Samson’s IPL 2022 batting record as captain

Matches: 16 Runs Scored: 444 50s: 2 100s: 0 RPI: 27.75

His overall batting record as a captain is pretty impressive. In this season, his performances have been just above par. But he has played some important knocks at the crucial stages of some matches. One notable one was the 47 runs off 26 deliveries in Qualifier 1.

But the biggest revelation of the season has been Sanju Samson, the captain. He has been calm and composed and held his nerves in the most intense situations. The biggest asset of Samson, the leader, is the faith he shows in his players. He has taken some bold decisions while backing his players.

1.    Giving Yuzvendra Chahal freedom: Throughout the tournament, Sanju Samson revolved his bowlers around Yuzvendra Chahal in the middle overs. Chahal was given the freedom to be his attacking self, and the plan has provided great returns to Sanju and his team. Yuzi has picked up 26 wickets in 16 matches in the tournament so far and has been the trump card.

2.    Backing Kuldeep Sen in the last over: Sanju Samson gave the final over to Kuldeep Sen in a match against LSG. The bowler repaid the faith the captain showed in him and defended 15 runs in the last over against Marcus Stoinis. Giving young bowlers exposure to pressure situations builds their character and grooms them, and Samson has successfully done that.

3.    Trusting Obed McCoy: Obed McCoy was thrashed by Rovman Powell in the final over of a league stage game. RR won the match, but most captains would have dropped the bowler for the next game after such a performance. But Samson trusted McCoy and backed him. The bowler has stood up to the expectations his captain had on him. Since the DC match, McCoy has developed into a handy death-over bowler for the team.

4.    Rediscovering Ravichandran Ashwin: Cricket fans and experts are well acquainted with Ravichandran Ashwin, the cunning T20 bowler. But Sanju Samson gifted a version 2.0 of Ashwin to the cricketing world. He has used him as a floater, and Ashwin has delivered brilliantly with the bat in the tournament. He has scored 185 runs in the tournament at an average of 30.83 and a strike rate of 146.83. Ashwin has also scored a half-century in the tournament.

Conclusion: Some gutsy decisions on the field, backing his players, and some valuable contributions with the bat. Sanju Samson has shown all the elements of a good captain. He has also looked calm and composed under crunch situations. The way Sanju carries himself on the field and keeps his cool in intense situations certainly reminds us of one such ‘Captain Cool’, who has been ruling our hearts for many years now. Time will definitely reveal if Sanju Samson establishes himself as one of the best captains in the history of the IPL or not, but at this point, it looks like he is following in the footsteps of the MSD.