IND vs IRE: "Never expressed myself so emotionally" - Sanju Samson reveals reason behind animated celebration vs LSG in IPL 2024

Sanju Samson has opened up on his brilliant match-winning knock against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2024 that helped Rajasthan Royals pull off the highest successful chase at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.

Asked to bat first, LSG scored 196 for 5 in the allotted 20 overs. The hosts were reeling at 11 for 2 at one stage before half-centuries from their captain KL Rahul (76) and Deepak Hooda (50) helped them recover and post a 190-plus total.

Before that game, no team had managed to chase even a 180-plus total at that venue let alone chasing down a total over 190. Before Rajasthan Royals pulled off the chase, the highest successful chase at the venue was 177 runs.

The odds were against Rajasthan Royals as they had to pull off a record chase. And their chances of doing it looked all but over after their mini-collapse between the sixth and ninth over. Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler shared a 60-run stand for the opening wicket before they departed in a space of three deliveries. In-form Riyan Parag could not do much with the bat either as the Royals found themselves reeling at 78 for 3 in the ninth over.

However, Sanju Samson played a captain's knock and guided his team to a famous win. He stayed till the end to take Rajasthan Royals home in 19 overs. The right-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 71 off 33 balls and also shared an unbeaten 121-run stand with Dhruv Jurel who scored 52.

Sanju Samson on his match-winning knock:

After hitting the winning runs, the ever-calm and composed Sanju Samson celebrated the victory in an animated fashion. And he recently opened up on his knock as well as his celebration. The Kerala star stated that he had never 'expressed himself so emotionally ever in a live game' before opening up on the reason behind it.

"You can say I think I never had it in my mind that I am going to win this game and I am going to show that I am ready for it. It was never like that. I have never expressed myself so emotionally ever in a live game or anywhere," said Sanju Samson in a video posted by BCCI.

"I have done it in like in Kerala when we play for Ranji Trophy and when people challenge you I think the best comes out of you. But that game I think when that last finishing moment of the game I think definitely I felt that something came out of me actually. So I really enjoyed it," he added.

Samson is currently in the USA with the Indian team for the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024. The Men in Blue will open their campaign on Wednesday (June 5) against Ireland.