Royal planning pays!

RR captain Sanju Samson during his 71 not out against LSG in Lucknow on Saturday. Pics/AFP

With the national selectors on the cusp of announcing the Indian team for the T20 World Cup, there was a game within the game between Lucknow Super Giants and Rajasthan Royals at the Ekana Stadium on Saturday night.

LSG captain LK Rahul and RR skipper Sanju Samson, who are strong contenders for a wicketkeeper's berth, enhanced their chances by spearheading the batting effort of their respective teams. In the end, it was Samson's brilliant unbeaten 71 that won the day, both for him and his team, over Rahul's 76. That helped RR notch up their eighth win in nine matches and remain on top of the table with 16 points.

RR's Dhruv Jurel during the match against LSG at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Saturday

Besides Samson and Rahul, there was a less-talked-about player in the limelight who was India's wicketkeeper in the recent Test series against England. Dhruv Jurel, who has been playing in the RR XI as a pure batter due to his captain Samson keeping wickets, finally made his presence felt with a mature knock of 52 not out from just 34 balls.

Unbeaten 121-run stand

It was his and Samson's unconquered 121-run alliance for the fourth wicket which helped achieve the 197-run target with seven wickets and six balls to spare. With Jurel also in the mix along with fit-and-firing Delhi Capitals's skipper Rishabh Pant, Rahul, Samson and Dinesh Karthik (of RCB), it would be interesting to see who gets the nod for the two wicketkeeper slots in the 15-man Indian squad.

Coming back to Saturday's match, RR achieved the highest run chase at the venue where matches are generally not high-scoring due to sluggish pitches. It was thus to the credit of the RR batters that they played aggressive cricket and never allowed LSG a look-in. The home team had a glimmer of hope when RR were 78-3 in the ninth over. But Samson and Jurel batted superbly to snuff out any hope of LSG collecting two points.

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After the match, Samson said the win was due to "a very good team effort and sticking to the plan."

Explaining further, he said: "We have stuck to the right processes, thus we have been doing well, though I must say we have been a little lucky as well. Mistakes are supposed to happen in T20 cricket, but we reiterate to stick to the process and that's getting us the [desired] results. So, it is clear that we are doing something right."

When asked which box he wanted to tick next, Samson gave a curt reply with a smile, "Next game, one game at a time."

Young Jurel gave credit for his maiden IPL half-century to his skipper. "At the start, my shots were hitting [going to] the fielders. Then I talked to Sanju Bhai, and he told me not to premeditate and play the ball on its merit. Then, the shots started flowing," Jurel said.

Special salute celebration

Talking about the salute celebration on attaining his half-century, he said: "I did it for my father [Nem Chand, a retired Indian Army Havildar who had taken part in the 1999 Kargil War]. I did that in the Test match also for him [when he got to his maiden half-century against England at Ranchi in February]. This time I got an opportunity to do the salute in front of him."