Indian Premier League 2021
IPL 2021: RR vs PBKS: The records that matter
The likes of Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson scripted several records during the match.
The match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals proved to be an absolute belter.
With high scores, lots of boundaries and sixes, great catches, superb wickets, and a lot of suspense, the game did not lack any entertainment value whatsoever.
Helped by a 91 from captain KL Rahul and blistering innings from Deepak Hooda, Punjab Kings, playing under new colours and a new name this season registered a score of over 220 in their very first IPL 2021 game.
For Rajasthan Royals, young Chetan Sakariya looked mighty impressive with the ball in hand and picked up a three-wicket haul on his IPL debut.
It was a nightmare start for Rajasthan Royals as they lost Ben Stokes with no runs on board during the run-chase.
However, their newly appointed captain Sanju Samson played a magnificent knock to keep the side in the game until the very last ball.
He finished on 119 from 63, getting dismissed on the last delivery in the match as Rajasthan Royals fell just four runs short of the target.
We'll take a look at some of the records and numbers from last night's thrilling encounter:
Sanju Samson's moment in the Sun
The first captain...
With the help of a fabulous century, Sanju Samson became the first captain to score a century on IPL debut.
Youngest to three IPL tons
This was also Samson's third IPL ton.
He's the youngest to achieve this feat and only Virat Kohli has more IPL centuries than Sanju Samson in the IPL.
Third-highest strike rate
Sanju Samson has a death batting strike rate of 223.3 among Indian batsmen in the IPL since 2018. Only Ishan Kishan and Rishabh Pant have a higher strike rate.
The second player...
Samson also became only the second player after Yusuf Pathan to score an IPL century in an unsuccessful run-chase.
Deepak Hooda was on fire
Deepak Hooda came in to bat ahead of Nicholas Pooran and showed exactly why the management decided to promote him. With the help of 4 fours and 6 sixes, Hooda scored 64 runs in just 28 deliveries.
Second fasted half-century...
He achieved his half-century in just 20 deliveries in the match, the second-fastest by an Indian uncapped player in the IPL. In IPL 2015, Deepak Hooda had scored a half-century against Delhi Daredevils in 22 balls.
Out caught and bowled
Ben Stokes and Manan Vohra became only the third opening pair to be caught and bowled in an IPL innings. Mandeep Singh and Adam Gilchrist was the first pair and that incident also took place in a match between Punjab and Rajasthan Royals.
The captains shine
This was also, the first and only IPL match where both the captains [as well as the keepers] added 200+ runs.
Only twice...
The target of 222 has been set only twice in IPL history. Both times Punjab Kings were up against Rajasthan Royals, with the first instance happening in IPL 2008.
