IPL 2021: RR skipper Sanju Samson says ‘situation of match’ forced batting crawl

Chris Morris picked four wickets and restricted KKR to 133/9 in their allotted 20 overs while skipper Sanju Samson scored 42 off 41 balls to lead the side home. With this win, RR registered their second win of the season after two successive defeats.

Rajasthan Royals batsmen David Miller (left) and Sanju Samson during their unbroken partnership against Kolkata Knight Riders in their IPL 2021 match in Mumbai. (Photo: Rajasthan Royals)

Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson said his 42-run knock off 41 balls was best suited for the team as he played according to the situation and guided them to a six-wicket win over Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday (April 24) evening. Skipper Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 42 after Chris Morris’ stand-out spell helped Rajasthan Royals register a comfortable win.

Morris picked four wickets and restricted KKR to 133/9 in their allotted 20 overs. With this win, RR registered their second win of the season after two successive defeats.

“Situation of the match demands the way I play. That’s what I’ve learnt from previous years. Even if you bat and score a quick fifty you feel bad if the team doesn’t win,” Samson said after the match.

Rajasthan skipper further lauded his bowlers for restricting KKR under the par-score. Samson gave special mention to Morris (4/23) and youngster Chetan Sakariya (1/31).

“Our bowlers have been doing really well for the last 4-5 matches. There are many options for me to juggle around. Really enjoy captaining them. You could see in his (Morris) eyes he wanted the competition. He wanted to get the big batsmen out,” he said.

“Sakariya is a very different kind of person. Very happy going, very chilled out. Same person inside and outside the ground. Hopefully, he will win us more matches in the future. We need to chill down a bit. We have been playing continuous matches from last week. We will take a day off and plan for the next game,” Samson added.

Chasing 134, Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal stitched a 21-run brief partnership for the opening wicket before spinner Varun Chakravarthy dismissed the former at 5 in the fourth over. After Buttler’s wicket, skipper Samson joined Jaiswal in the middle. Samson added a 19-run stand with Jaiswal for the second wicket.

Shivam Mavi sent Jaiswal (22) back to the pavilion in the sixth over. Shivam Dube and Samson steered the side after the departure of openers. The duo built a 45-run partnership for the third wicket. In the 11th over, Chakravarthy bagged another scalp as he removed Dube (22).

Rahul Tewatia’s stay did not last at the crease for long as he was picked by pacer Prasidh Krishna in the 14th over. Tewatia just scored five runs.

David Miller came in to bat at number six. He along with Samson took the responsibility to take the side over the line. Samson scored unbeaten 42 while Miller amassed not out 24. For KKR, Chakravarthy picked two scalps while Mavi and Krishna bagged one wicket each. Rajasthan will now take on Mumbai Indians at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on April 29.

(with ANI inputs)