Samson hits Rashid Khan for three consecutive sixes! The first one was hit flat and straight down the ground, with Miller at long-off unable to catch it despite jumping high. On the next ball, Samson rocks back and pulls a short delivery hard, clearing the fielder at cow corner.
And to complete the hat-trick of sixes, Samson rocks back again on the following delivery, this time hitting a more convincing pull shot in front of square and over wide long-on, sending the ball into the stands.
He has scored his 19th half-century, and he accomplished this feat in only 29 deliveries. Noor Ahmad, the Afghan debutant, has taken over from his compatriot Rashid Khan, the Afghan legend, and is currently bowling the 15th over.
In the first three overs, Rajasthan Royals struggled to score as they lost both their openers for just four runs, courtesy of Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya’s excellent bowling. Jos Buttler failed to score any runs, adding to the early troubles. Seam bowling dominated the powerplay phase of RR’s innings.
Earlier, Rajasthan had limited Gujarat Titans to 177/7, thanks to a late surge from David Miller. Despite a promising start by Pandya and Shubman Gill, GT lost momentum after Pandya’s dismissal, and Miller’s 46 off 30 balls, which came after being dropped early in his innings, proved costly for RR.