IPL 2023: Credit to the RCB bowlers for their energy and intensity – Sanju Samson after big loss against Royal Challengers Bangalore

Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson gave credit to the RCB bowlers after their gargantuan loss of 112 runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur on Sunday. RR was skittled out for only 59 runs while chasing 172 and it was their second-lowest total in the IPL history.

In fact, only two RR batters could manage scores in double-digits as their batting crumbled like a pack of cards. Wayne Parnell bowled a terrific spell as he returned with figures of 3-10 in the three overs he bowled.

Furthermore, Michael Bracewell and Karn Sharma bagged two wickets apiece whereas Mohammed Siraj took one wicket. RR kept losing wickets at regular intervals throughout the innings and could not build any impetus.

In fact, RR’s top order of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Jos Buttler has done the lion share of the scoring in the ongoing season and both of them were dismissed without troubling the scorers.

On the other hand, Wayne Parnell and Co. were right on the money from the get-go as they didn’t allow any of the RR batters to settle at the crease. Shimron Hetmyer top-scored with 35 runs for RR but the rest of the batters could not get going.

Sanju Samson said in the post-match presentation, “I think our top three were scoring a lot of runs, we go hard in the powerplay but it didn’t come out today. I think it’s too soon to analyze or dissect the game. You need to go hard in the powerplay knowing the ball was getting slower and older, that’s the way me, Jaiswal and Jos have played throughout. Credit to the RCB bowlers for their energy and intensity.”

Samson believes the match could have gone down the wire if they had a decent powerplay but it was one-traffic in the second innings and the poor batting performance led to their downfall.

He added, “I think this was a target that could have gone to the wire, I expected a tight match if we had a decent powerplay. I was just thinking seeing the batting collapse where we went wrong? I don’t think I have an answer to that yet. We all know the nature of the IPL, we’ve seen some funny things happen in the league stage. We have to keep strong, take a day off and think about the game in Dharamshala. I think we need to end on a strong note. We have to take responsibility on the whole as a team for this performance.”

Rajasthan Royals will next take on Punjab Kings in their last league stage match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on Friday.