IPL 2021: We Didn't Execute Whatever We Had Planned - Sanju Samson After 86-Run Loss vs KKR

Sanju Samson, the Rajasthan Royals captain, opined that the Sharjah pitch was much better than what his batsmen made it look like as RR were bowled out for 85 while chasing Kolkata Knight Riders‘s 171, conceding a heavy loss by an 86-run margin, in their last league game.

Sanju Samson thought they had a chance at the target of 172 after the pitch played out well during KKR’s innings, when Shubman Gill hit a fifty and others played crucial cameos.

However, only two of Royals’ batsmen got into double digits as RR suffered their second consecutive embarrassing loss in Sharjah. Shivam Mavi picked 4 wickets and Lockie Ferguson took three.

“I think to be very honest it was a better wicket. It was staying a little low with the new ball but it was a better wicket. 171 was chaseable on this wicket.

“I think we wanted to get a good start. We needed a powerful powerplay. We wanted to execute whatever we planned but we didn’t execute.”

We need to play a better standard of cricket: Sanju Samson

RR finished the season at the 7th position, winning 5 matches and losing 9. Sanju Samson is proud of how his side won some of the close games, but stressed upon improving the quality of cricket they need to play.

“I think if you look at the whole season, we have gone through many challenges. We showed character through and I am proud of the boys. We won some close games and lost some easy ones. We need to play a better standard of cricket to win more games in this tournament,” he added.

He also talked about his own batting. Sanju Samson finishes with 484 runs, which came at a strike rate of 136.72. He would, however, have wanted to win a few more matches.

“Everyone came up with positive vibes. People were ready to go out there and win games for us. Being the skipper, I changed the way I look at my innings. It was always about thinking about the match situations. I would have loved to win more games despite scoring a lot of runs,” the RR skipper concluded.

This massive victory also means that KKR have all but sealed their playoff spot considering the big gap between their and Mumbai Indians’ net run rate.

Also Read: IPL 2021: One Of Those Days Where I Felt I Could Hit Every Ball – KL Rahul On His Stunning 98-Run Knock vs CSK