MUMBAI: Young Kerala batsman Sanju Samson said that the over in which he and Karun Nair were dismissed off successive deliveries bowled by Mitchell McClenaghan was the turning point of his side Rajasthan Royals' eight-run defeat in the IPL cricket match against Mumbai Indians here.
"The over in which I got out changed the game," said wicketkeeper Samson, who powered his way to a brilliant 76 off 46 balls to take Rajasthan closer to victory before falling to McClenaghan in the 18th over.
New Zealand pacer McClenaghan got rid of Nair for a first-ball duck and then Sri Lankan sling-arm specialist Lasith Malinga dismissed Deepak Hooda in the next over to arrest the Royals' winning strides.
"Today it was my turn to go up and perform for the team.
Chasing a paltry target of 119, Daredevils romped home with 6.1 overs to spare as openers Mayank Agarwal (52 not out) and Shreyas Iyer (54) put on a comfortable 106-run partnership for the first wicket to seal the issue in style.
The home team could not have asked for a better performance from their bowlers in their last home match as they restricted Punjab to 118 for eight after winning the toss.
Coming into bowl in a competitive match after 363 days, Zaheer removed Virender Sehwag (1) off the second ball and Manan Vohra (1) in his very next over as he finished with figures of 2/17 from four overs.
