Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson reflected on his team’s disappointing IPL 2021 season that culminated with an embarrassing 86-run defeat against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
In their final match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 in Sharjah, the Royals never got going in a chase of 172. They were skittled out for a paltry 86, their ninth loss this season. The defeat meant RR ended their IPL campaign in a lowly seventh spot, a year after they finished last.
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Speaking at the post-match presentation, Samson rued the absence of key players – Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler – during the second leg of their campaign. Nevertheless, he acknowledged the need for RR to raise their level and be more consistent in their performances. Samson said:
“I think if you look at the whole season, we have gone through many challenges. We showed character, though, and I am proud of the boys. We won some close games and lost some easy ones. We wanted to play well, and perform as a team.”
“Everyone tried their best. We need to play a better standard of cricket to win more games in this tournament. Those were the challenges (missing Stokes, Buttler and Archer). Everyone came up with positive vibes. People were ready to go out there and win games for us.”
Captaining for the first time in an entire IPL season, Sanju Samson led from the front, scoring nearly 500 runs. However, more often than not, his teammates didn’t provide enough support during key moments of games. Nevertheless, shedding light on the adjustments he made as a batter, Samson said:
“Being the captain, I changed the way I look at my innings. I analyse more, see the batsmen batting with me and how they are playing. I think what happens if I get out now, and how will the innings progress. It was always about thinking about the match situations. So I put that ahead of my natural game, but though that gave me more runs, I would have loved to win more games for the team.”
Samson enjoyed his most prolific IPL campaign in his nine-year career in the competition. The 26-year-old scored 484 runs this season at an average of 40.3, striking at almost 137.
“172 was chaseable on this wicket” – Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson said that the target of 172 was gettable against KKR despite the sluggish nature of the Sharjah wicket. After managing just 90 for nine against Mumbai Indians (MI) earlier this week, RR folded for 85 against KKR on Thursday, though.
Talking about his team’s unsuccessful chase, Samson rued not capitalising on the powerplay overs, saying:
“I think to be very honest; it was a much better wicket than (in) the last game. It was staying a little low with the new ball, but it was a better wicket. 172 was chaseable on this wicket, especially with the batting line-up we have. We wanted to get a good start. We needed a good powerplay. We wanted to execute whatever we planned, but we didn’t execute (well).”
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With their big win over RR, KKR have all but sealed their place in the playoffs. The result means defending champions MI will have to bat first in their last game of IPL 2021 on Friday and win by at least 171 runs to pip KKR and finish in the top four.
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