It Was All About One Shot Here And There, Says RR’s Sanju Samson After Narrow Defeat To RCB

New Delhi: Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson said, “it was all about one short here and there” for his team as they went down to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by 7 runs in Match 32 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 here.

While claiming that it was all about momentum and hitting a few more sixes, Samson said their decision to send Ravichandran Ashwin to bat ahead of a known big-hitter like Jason Holder was as per a plan.

“I think on this ground, I think 10, 12, 13 per over is chaseable. It was just about momentum and hitting a few more sixes. Normally Hettie (Shimron Hetmyer) does it but today (Dhruv) Jurel was hitting it well. It was just about one shot here and there,” Samson said after the match on Sunday.

Samson said sending Ashwin ahead of Holder was as per a plan. Ashwin scored 12 off 6 balls while Dhruv Jurej remained not out on 34 off 16 deliveries as Rajasthan Royals fell short in their chase of 189/9 by RCB.

Rajasthan Royals reached the final over needing 20 to win and Ashwin struck a 4, 2, 4 off Harshal Patel and with 10 needed off three balls, picked the man out at deep midwicket to get out. RR could manage only two runs from the remaining two deliveries, despite bringing Abdul Basith as an Impact Player and sending him ahead of Holder.

Samson said usually such decisions depend on who was bowling at that time.

“It depends on who is bowling and what the situation is and whether we are chasing and setting a target. I think Ashwin with his experience and what he has done in the last couple of games has delivered. That’s what the planning was,” he said.

He also said they will have to continue checking their routine as there was not much difference between the teams and the matches were ending in close finishes.

“I think with the IPL games, the winning and losing is done with very small margins so we have to keep checking our routines,” he added.