Thiruvananthapuram : Sanju V. Samson appears to have saved the day for Kerala after he bagged the best young cricketer award at the sixth edition of the IPL. The better known cricketer Sreesanth, another player from Kerala is in jail for the spot-fixing scandal. He hails from Trivandrum and represents Kerala in domestic cricket. In the IPL he plays for Rajasthan Royals. He is the youngest to score a half-century in the IPL. This he achieved on April 29, 2013 in the match between Rajasthan Royals vs. Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In 2013, he signed for Rajasthan Royals .He made his IPL debut against Kings XI Punjab on April 13,2013 after the regular wicket keeper Dishant Yagnik failed to recover from an injury. He impressed with a great catch to remove Rajagopal Sathish off the bowling of James faulkner. He scored a composed 27 runs off 23 deliveries and his unbroken partnership with Rahane for 47 runs made sure Rajastan Royals won the match with 4 balls to spare. “The Kerala cricketers calm performance won him many admirers and he may prove to be one of the answers to Royals problems in the middle-order.
Sanju played his second match for Rajastan Royals against the Royal Challengers Bangalore on April 29,2013. Rajasthan Royals were chasing a tough target of 172 when Sanju was promoted up the batting order to No.3. His scored 63 off 41 balls and his partnership with Shane Watson of 68 runs off 46 balls laid the foundation for the Rajasthan Royals victory. He won the Man of the match award for his performance which invited praise from all quarters for the quality of the strokes and the composure of the innings.
Sanju won the Young Player of the season award for the present season of the IPL 2013. On May 5, 2013 , Sanju won the Naya soch award in his 4th IPL match for Rajasthan Royals against Pune Warriors . He came in at a tense situation and made a useful contribution to the 25 run partnership with Stuart Binny in 2.1 overs propelling Royals to yet another win.
Eighteen year old Samson played 11 matches, got 10 innings and scored 206 runs with 63 not out as his highest score. He finished with a strike rate of 130.20, at an average of 25.75. Meanwhile, Sreesanth is under arrest for his alleged role in spot fixing, along with two other fellow players. Both these cricketers were the pride of Kerala. Sreesanths criminal act has made many ardent sports fans in the state shrink, and it was left to the young Samson to restore the glory of the game for many in state, as he walked away with the award for the best young cricketer Sunday, after the final match.
Both the cricketers played for Rajasthan Royals, which lost out in the semi-finals to the eventual winner, Mumbai Indians. Samson Viswanath, father of the teenage cricketer, said he was mighty pleased with his son. “He is arriving in the afternoon, my wife and I and our elder son will be there to receive him,” the sources said.
The young cricketers Class X11 examination results were declared while he was away, and his results call for celebrations too. “He will now study literature, and we expect he will get admission at the Mar Ivanios College here,” the proud father said. The Samsons live in a rented home near the airport in the state capital, close to the beach. The young cricketers performance has brought public attention to the family, and there are now posters of the boy in a coastal village near the airport.
