IPL 2023: Rajasthan Royals were left shell-shocked after Royal Challengers Bangalore wrapped them up for 59 to register a mammoth 112-run success in Jaipur on Sunday. Meanwhile, RR leader Sanju Samson was left speechless by the performance.
Former champion Rajasthan Royals (RR) skipper Sanju Samson had "no answer" to the dismal performance his batters dished out in the match against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday, getting bundled out for 59, the third-lowest innings total ever in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Faf du Plessis' RCB won the match by 112 runs after posting 171/5. The visitors finished the opposition in just 10.3 overs, with South African quick Wayne Parnell emerging as the most successful bowler with 3/10 from three overs.
The famed Royals' batting crumbled, with the home team reduced to 5/28 in PowerPlay, which could never recover from. On the floundering campaign in the second half of the IPL, Samson said, "That is a great question. I was thinking about it and where it went wrong. Sorry, I do not have an answer for that."
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Four Royals batters, including openers Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal, were out for a duck, while Samson could only score four runs. Samson, though, put up a brave front saying IPL is a tournament where a turnaround can happen within a couple of days. "We all know the nature of the IPL. We know things can change in a couple of days. Funny things happen at the end of the league stages. We must be strong, professional and think about our game in Dharamsala. You have to keep your hopes high and try your best," he added.
The margin of defeat means the Royals' net run rate has taken a severe beating even as RCB leapfrogged them on the points table to be placed fifth with 12 points, while RR, stranded on 12 points, dropped to sixth. The Royals skipper said their strategy to go hard in powerplays had come unstuck, adding that his batters had little choice, but to take risks, given the wicket would slow down as their innings progressed.
"We usually go hard in the powerplay, but that did not quite happen today. It will take some time to assess our display. That is the nature of T20 cricket. Knowing that the wicket will slow down, you have to go hard in the powerplay. Today [Sunday], it did not work out. That [match] could have gone to the wire. It could have been a tight match if we had a decent powerplay. I felt that [RCB's score] was a par score on this wicket," explained Samson.
RCB skipper du Plessis said the net run rate (NRR) improvement after the big win would do his side a world of good. He added the pitch was tough to bat on and that the later-order batting by Anuj Rawat (29 not out) helped the team past 160. "We needed it, regarding the NRR [net run rate]. It was a tough pitch when we batted first. Even in the powerplay, the ball kept low, and we felt that 160 would be a good score. Those hits towards the end pushed us to a perfect score. We have not quite managed to do it [finish off strongly] well," he concluded.
