Sachin Tendulkar ‘Surprised’ With Rajasthan Royals Captain Sanju Samson Opting To Bat First After Winning The Toss In IPL 2022 Final

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar said that RR captain Sanju Samson opting to bat first after winning the toss in the IPL 2022 final against Gujarat Titans (GT) on May 29 was a surprising call and felt that RR missed the trick by not bowling first on that Ahmedabad pitch.

Samson, who lost 13 tosses out of 16 matches in IPL 2022, surprised many by winning the toss in the final, but contrary to popular opinion, deciding to bat first instead of bowling first, a decision that came back to bite them later.

RR could only manage 130/9 in 20 overs as GT bowlers tightened the noose throughout their innings with only Jos Buttler (39) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (22) passing the 20-run mark as Hardik Pandya took 3/17. In reply, Shubman Gill (45*), Hardik Pandya (34), and David Miller (32*) took GT home with 7 wickets and 11 balls to spare, making them the IPL 2022 champions.

I Don’t Know Why They Chose To Bat First In The Final: Sachin Tendulkar On RR’s Decision After Winning The Toss

Sachin Tendulkar analyzed the final on his YouTube show, SachInsight, and said that he was surprised by RR captain Sanju Samson opting to bat first in the high-pressure IPL 2022 final match. And said that they missed the track by not asking GT to come and post a total on the ground they haven’t played on this season before.

“In the final, Rajasthan won the toss and surprisingly batted first. In the last match, they bowled first, and the off the seam movement that their bowlers got last time was very interesting. But I don’t know why they chose to bat first in the final.

“Maybe it’s because in the big match they wanted to bat first, but on this wicket and this ground, GT hasn’t played before. Rajasthan had an advantage of playing there before and having an idea about how this wicket behaves.

“So I think, according to me, if they had bowled first, then there would have been some pressure on Gujarat because, in that case, they would have to think about setting a good total, particularly after watching Jos Buttler bat in the last match (vs RCB),” the batting legend said.

Hardik Pandya-led GT became only the second team to win the IPL tournament on their debut, after RR, who did it in IPL 2008.

Also Read: IPL 2022: It Has Been One Of The Most Memorable Seasons: David Miller