T20 World Cup 2024: Sanju Samson blasted brutally for his tactical blunders vs SRH

Rajasthan Royals' (RR) journey in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024) ended with a heartbreaking loss against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in "Qualifier 2". Former SunRisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody highlighted flaws in Sanju Samson's captaincy that led to the Rajasthan Royals's loss in the recent game.

The Jaipur-based team suffered a crushing 36-run defeat in a do-or-die match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Friday, May 24. The Rajasthan batters failed to deliver in the 176-run chase in the knockout game. They managed to score 139 for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs.

SunRisers Hyderabad scored runs at a quick pace despite losing wickets in the powerplay. They scored 68 runs for the loss of three wickets in six overs. However, they failed to maintain momentum and lost wickets at regular intervals. Heinrich Klaasen scored a fifty and guided SRH to 175/9 in 20 overs.

Yashasvi Jaiswal provided a solid start during the run chase. He scored 42 off 21 balls before being removed by Shahbaz Ahmed. Following Jaiswal's dismissal, RR lost wickets at regular intervals and collapsed to 79-5. Dhruv Jurel scored an unbeaten 56 off 35 balls but didn't get support from the other end.

We Should'nt Be Surprised - Tom Moody

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Tom Moody questioned Sanju Samson's decision to demote Shimron Hetmyer in the batting order despite two left-arm spinners bowling. Moody emphasized that RR could've counteracted SRH's spin threat by sending Hetmyer earlier, adding that this error contributed to the loss.

"We shouldn't be surprised because that is the trend. We shouldn't be surprised and every single time we sit here and say that we are surprised. To me, it was an absolute no-brainer. Hetmyer had to go in ahead of Dhruv Jurel, regardless of whether he played very nicely. He would have still played nice when he got his opportunity," Moody said.

"But they needed to negate the two left-arm spinners, right at the outset. That was the hole, the Sunrisers had in their attack and they needed to negate that. They should have sent Hetmyer in and said just play your game. Take it down in your zone, let's get ahead in this game, do not allow these left-arm spinners to take control of the game."

"Yes, people will see we end up getting out to left-arm spin, but the game was nearly gone by then and that was a particularly good ball, a carrom ball as we mentioned. If we got ahead in the game, that would not have ever happened. It is a tactical blunder," he further added.

Shimron Hetmyer had a disappointing IPL campaign this year. The left-handed batter managed 113 runs from 12 matches at an average of 22.60. Hetmyer played a crucial match-winning innings against the Punjab Kings (PBKS), scoring an unbeaten 27 runs off 10 balls to help his team chase down the target.

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