IPL 2021: We could have got 20-30 runs more, says Sanju Samson

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has admitted that they could have scored 20-30 runs more against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Monday.

The inaugural champions of the IPL could only manage 164 runs on the board despite getting a good start.

Sanju Samson scored a fine knock of 82 runs off 57 balls but RR middle-order batsmen failed to add the finishing touches. Mahipal Lomror struggled to get going as he scored almost a run-a-ball 29.

Meanwhile, Samson got to his fifty off 41 balls, which is one of the slowest for him. The RR skipper changed gears after reaching his personal milestone but could not get support from the other end. In fact, RR could only score 11 runs off their final two overs and it was the difference between a good score and a par score.

Furthermore, RR had wickets in their hand at the fag end of their innings and could have easily scored more than 180 runs but it wasn’t to be the case.

Sanju Samson said after the game, “I think it was a decent score. The wicket was a bit sticky, they were bowling well. We could have got 10-20 runs more. On a sticky wicket once you get a start you need to keep on going. I wanted to keep going after the powerplay but we kept losing wickets, so I wanted to stick on and have a partnership. We wanted to put on a respectable total to fight back. But we got what we had targetted after the timeout. We need to work on bowling and batting. We need to be at our best every ball and execute well. We needed to lift our standards”.

Rajasthan Royals would need to be more consistent and they will need to come up with a collective effort in the coming matches. On the other hand, SRH was finally able to end their five-match losing streak after fifties from Jason Roy and Kane Williamson helped them chase 165 with ease. It was a much-needed win for the Orange Army, who have just kept themselves in the playoff race.

RR will next face Royal Challengers Bangalore on 29th September at the same venue of Dubai International Cricket Stadium.