Khaleel Ahmed edged Yashasvi Jaiswal to mid-off in the first over of the chase, but Samson continued to roll in the powerplay. Khaleel, Ishant Sharma and Mukesh bore the brunt of Samson's assault as he raced to 41 off 16. His runs helped RR to a strong 67 for 2 after six overs, losing Jos Buttler to Axar in the penultimate ball of the powerplay.
Kuldeep then conceded just 11 runs from his first two overs as Samson and Parag trudged along in a 36-run 31-ball stand. Salam's slower ball ended the partnership when he trapped the in-form Parag for 27.
Samson had made just eight runs off nine balls in the partnership with Parag and the dismissal seemed to bring out a sense of urgency in the RR captain. A free-hit six off Kuldeep, which brought up his half-century, was followed by two sixes and a four in the next over, bowled by Salam. A 17-run over from Ishant was followed by an erratic one from Khaleel, who bowled four wides in a row.
But with the momentum shifting to RR, Mukesh had Samson lbw. Hope took the catch running to his left at long-on and almost tripped on the boundary rope. After the third umpire confirmed that he was indeed out, Samson went to the umpire in protest but had to walk on.