IPL 2018: Rajasthan Royals Batting Coach Amol Muzumdar Rues Poor Fielding After Loss

Rajasthan Royals batting coach, Amol Muzumdar rued the team’s fielding effort after they came up with another dismal performance to slump to their fourth defeat this season.

The Royals’ dropped several regulation catches and paid the price in the end, losing the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad by 11 runs while chasing a modest 152 on Sunday.

Ajinkya Rahane remained till the end, scoring an unbeaten 65 but could not manage to keep the chase under control. Rahane and Sanju Samson got the chase going, but it did not pay off in the end for the Rajasthan Royals.

The pair added 59 for the second wicket after Rahul Tripathi fell early. Samson scored 40 before being sent back. The equation was finally down to 21 off the last over, but Basil Thampi comfortably defended the total to fire his team to the top of the points table.

Sandeep Sharma, spearheading the attack in Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s absence, tied down the batsmen, giving away just 15 runs in four overs. Siddarth Kaul also bowled well, conceding 23 off his four overs in addition to picking up two wickets.

Speaking after the loss, Mazumdar rued the team’s poor fielding effort which made a big difference in the end.

“It needs to be addressed and something we have to really look into. We have always said we want to field aggressively. That’s an area we can really improve because this is the third catch that has been dropped in the slip cordon,” Muzumdar said in the post-match press conference.

Tripathi dropped Kane Williamson on 11, and the skipper went on to score a decisive 63, helping Sunrisers Hyderabad reach 151/7.  Ben Stokes then put down his compatriot Alex Hales on 25 off Ish Sodhi which eventually cost the Rajasthan Royals in the end.

It was not the first time this season that Royals paid a hefty price for dropping catches.

In their season-opener against the same team, Rahane had dropped Shikhar Dhawan at slips, and the left-hander had gone on to seal the game with an unbeaten fifty.

Tripathi had dropped Shane Watson in the Chennai Super Kings game, and the latter one had gone on to slam a match-winning ton.

Mazumdar further said the game went out of the Royals’ hand towards the end.

“The game was within our reach all the time barring the last two, three overs. So we always felt that we’ll have that one big over,” Muzumdar said. “That didn’t come till the last over. It was a bit disappointing to lose this kind of a game.”