‘Hat-trick of sixes against Rashid Khan was a game changer’: Kumar Sangakkara lauds Sanju Samson’s knock

Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara lauded skipper Sanju Samson for taking on Rashid Khan and said the “hat-trick” of sixes he hit against the leg-spinner was the game-changer.
Sanju hit four sixes off Rashid’s bowling, but three back-to-back he hit in the thirteenth over swung the momentum in Royals’ favour.
“Not just you got us through the powerplay, but that Rashid Khan over and then how you kicked in from there, that was the game changer,” Sangakkara told Samson in the post-match team meeting.

Play the ball, not the man! 💪 pic.twitter.com/C2CvL25mor
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 16, 2023
“Their best bowler, some say the best T20 spinner in the world, was completely caught off guard. It just goes to show that when you are in the game, anything is possible.
“Whether it is Rashid Khan, Shane Warne or Muttiah Muralitharan, It doesn’t matter when we’re in the game. We play the ball, not the man.”

In reply to Gujarat’s 177-7, Rajasthan was in trouble at 55-4 in 10.3 overs. Samson and Hetmyer put on 59 runs off 27 balls to rescue the innings.
Samson struck six sixes and three fours to accelerate the chase. After his dismissal, Hetmyer put on another 47 off 20 balls with Dhruv Jorel (18) to close the gap. The West Indian stayed till the end, hitting five sixes and two fours overall.