Rajasthan Royals (RR) thrashed Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the 18th match of the Indian Premier League 2025 on Saturday (April 5). In his first match as a captain this season, Sanju Samson scripted history. He surpassed Shane Warne to become the most successful captain for RR.
Rajasthan Royals came to bat first in the game played at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, Chandigarh. Yashasvi Jaiswal (67 off 45) and Riyan Parag (43 off 25) powered RR to register a score of 205/4. Sanju Samson too contributed 38 runs off 26 deliveries. On the other hand, PBKS’s batting line-up struggled and they managed to score just 155/9 after 20 overs.
It was the 32nd win for the RR team under the captaincy of Sanju Samson and with the win, he surpassed Shane Warne with 31 wins as captain for the franchise. Sanju reached the milestone in 62 matches.
Most wins as Rajasthan Royals’ captain
Sanju Samson – 32 wins in 62 matches
Shane Warne – 31 wins in 55 matches
Rahul Dravid – 18 wins in 34 matches
Steven Smith – 15 wins in 27 matches
Ajinkya Rahane – 9 wins in 24 matches
Sanju Samson at the Post-match presentation ceremony
“The way we started in the powerplay, we thought we were running a bit short but the quality of the batters we have got, 205 was a very good score on the board, Sanju Samson said after winning the match.
He lavished praises for Jofra Archer and Sandeep Sharma, “That’s a very deadly combo, one guy bowling at 150 kph and one guy at 115 kph. I can trust them a bit more with the pressure overs.”
“We focused on the process and the result took care of itself. We took our time to find out what the best combination, lineups, and batting orders are,” he added about winning the game.
Sanju Samson’s IPL journey so far
Since his IPL debut in 2013, Sanju has played 172 matches so far. He has amassed 4556 runs and has smashed three centuries.
RR’s upcoming match
Rajasthan Royals have their next match against Gujarat Titans on the 9th of April. After winning two consecutive matches, they will be charged up to win their next game. They are currently at the 7th position on the Points Table with 4 points and an NRR of -0.185.
