Thrice, he was hit to the boundary as the radar deserted him on a pitch full of runs. To add salt to the wound, Rajasthan had run out of time so they had to bowl the last over with an extra fielder inside the circle (it was some sight to see Kumar Sangakkara urging his players to rush through). 15 off six with four wickets in hand was manageable for Gujarat as long as they got off to a good start. And Rashid found it, putting his elastic wrists to good effect as he moved across the stumps to dump it over square. Two balls later, a lucky outside edge beat the diving Samson to run away for another boundary. Tewatia ran himself out but he had already completed his part in what would be another thrilling heist as Rashid hit the last ball for a four.

Samson sparkles

When the dust settles, the hosts will wonder how they lost a match they had under their control for the first 35 overs or so. A win would have seen them become the first team to start an IPL campaign with five wins on the bounce. Instead, they will have to have a difficult debrief on Thursday morning.

However, they will be pleased with the form of Samson, the batter. He can do no wrong at the moment. While his flamboyance has never been in doubt, he was perceived to be up and down with the bat. Very hot or slightly cold.

In 2024, he has been like the start of the Indian summer. Very, very hot. His 38-ball 68, coupled with Riyan Parag’s 76 off 48, gave the innings some much-needed oxygen post the powerplay. Their 130-run partnership helped the franchise post 196/3 (the third time in as many innings that they have registered a score in excess of 180 while batting first), their highest of the season.

In hindsight, it didn’t prove to be good enough thanks to Gujarat’s Houdini Act. Brief scores: Rajasthan Royals 196/3 in 20 ovs (Parag 76, Samson 68 n.o; Rashid 1/18) lost to Gujarat Titans 199/7 in 20 ovs (Gill 72, Rashid 24 n.o).