RR vs PBKS, IPL 2021: How The World Reacted To Sanju Samson Denying Chris Morris A Single In Last Over

RR vs PBKS: With Rajasthan Royals needing 5 to win off 2 balls, Sanju Samson denied Chris Morris the single. Samson was dismissed off the final ball as Punjab Kings won by four runs.

Sanju Samson decided against giving Chris Morris the strike, refusing to take a single.

Sanju Samson played a heroic knock of 119 off just 63 balls that included 12 fours and a whopping seven sixes, but it still wasn't enough as Rajasthan Royals fell short by four runs in their chase of Punjab Kings' 221/6.

The Rajasthan Royals skipper waged a lone battle as big names like Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler failed to come to the party. However, Samson might be left to rue one decision. In the final over of RR's innings, the wicketkeeper/batsman smacked a six off Arshdeep Singh on the fourth ball to bring the equation down to 5 needed to win off 2 balls.

On the next ball, Samson hit the ball to deep extra cover but decided against taking the single and letting Chris Morris take the strike on the last ball. That effectively meant that RR were left needing a six to win the game, and a four to tie. Neither happened as Samson was caught at long-off, a heartbreaking end for the right-hander and his team.

After the game, social media was buzzing with fans, pundits and even cricketers discussing Samson's decision to farm the strike and not take the single.

Punjab Kings had their own stars on the day. Captain KL Rahul was just fantastic, scoring 91 off 50 balls amd he got good support from West Indie veteran Chris Gayle, who despite a shaky start managed to score 40 off 28 balls.

But arguably the game-changing knock came from Deepak Hooda. The big-hitting right-hander smashed six maximums and four fours in his knock of 64 off just 28 balls to power Punjab Kings to 221/6 in their allotted 20 overs.

Chris Morris, who was bought by RR for Rs 16.25 crore -- the highest-ever fee paid for a player -- took two wickets but went for 41 runs off his four overs. Bangladesh paceman went for even more, giving away 45 off his four overs.

Shivam Dube, who was released by RCB and picked up by RR for Rs 4.4 crore, hit out of the attack, giving away 20 runs off the only over he bowled. But the standout for RR in the bowling department was the young Chetan Sakariya, who took three wickets, giving away 31 runs off his four overs.