Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by 4 runs

Sanju Samson’s blistering century on his captaincy debut for Rajasthan Royals went in vain as Punjab Kings snatched a four-run win in the Indian Premier League, according to The Associated Press.

Needing five off the last two balls, Samson declined a single off the fifth ball to retain the strike before holing out in the deep off the final delivery after scoring a scintillating 119 off just 63 balls with 12 fours and seven sixes.

Punjab’s total of 221-6 never looked enough, especially after Samson twice got dropped before completing his half century and then successfully overturned an lbw decision against him soon after crossing the 50-run mark, according to The Associated Press.

“The second part of my innings was my best IPL performance,” Samson said.

“I really enjoy my shots … the sixes come out naturally, and in that process I tend to lose my wickets also.”

Needing 13 off left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh’s last over, Samson brought down the target to five off two balls with a six. But Singh kept his cool to finish with impressive figures of 3-45 as Rajasthan ended up at 217-7, according to The Associated Press.

“Heart rate was high but I didn’t stop believing, we knew a couple of wickets would bring us back,” Punjab skipper Lokesh Rahul, who earlier top-scored with 91, said.