IPL: 5 Highest Scores By A Player On Captaincy Debut

On last Monday (12th April) night, when Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Punjab Kings (PBKS) began their journey in the IPL 2021, Sanju Samson made his IPL captaincy debut who led the Rajasthan Royals team. In that high-scoring thriller in Mumbai, Sanju not only put his name in the list of highest scores on IPL captaincy debut, but he also became the first cricketer to score a century on IPL captaincy debut.

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson won the toss in that fourth match of the IPL 2021 and chose to bowl first while PBKS managed to score 221/6 (20 overs) in the first innings. In chasing, while the other batsmen were struggling to say for a long time, Sanju single-handedly controlled the game for Rajasthan Royals, who was the only batsman for his team to cross the 30-run mark on that night.

After completing his half-century in 33 balls, Sanju completed his third IPL century but first as an IPL captain in 54 balls. While his team needed five more runs to win on the final ball of that match, Sanju was caught out at deep cover after scoring 119 off 63 balls (12 fours and 7 sixes). Ultimately, Rajasthan Royals lost their IPL 2021 opening match by 4 runs but Sanju Samson became the first captain to score a century on IPL captaincy debut.

Other top four highest scores on IPL captaincy debut

In the list of highest scores on IPL captaincy debut, Shreyas Iyer was the previous record holder who scored 93 not out off 40 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on his IPL captaincy debut for Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2018.

Caribbean cricketer Kieron Pollard is now in the third position in the list of highest scores on IPL captaincy debut. While he made IPL captaincy debut for Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2019 during the match against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) (now known as Punjab Kings or PBKS) at Mumbai, Pollard scored 83 runs off just 31 balls.

On the other hand, Australian cricketer Aaron Finch previously held the record of highest scores on IPL captaincy debut for more than five years. During his debut as a captain for Pune Warriors India in the IPL 2013, Finch scored 64 runs off 42 deliveries against KXIP. In the IPL 2018, Shreyas Iyer broke that record.

In the IPL 2016, Murali Vijay made his IPL captaincy debut when he led Kings XI Punjab against now-defunct Gujarat Lions. In that special game, Vijay scored 55 runs off 41 balls as an opening batsman.

5 Highest Scores By A Player On IPL Captaincy Debut