The Sanju Samson-led Rajasthan Royals (RR) started their UAE leg of the IPL 2021 with a sensational victory over Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 2 runs at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) lost the toss and they were invited by KL Rahul and co. to bat first. Notably, the Sanju Samson-led side grabbed the opportunity to bat first with both hands and had an excellent outing. Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings with destructive West Indies opener Evin Lewis and provided an excellent start to the Rajasthan Royals (RR) franchise. The opening duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Evin Lewis added 54 runs for the first wicket.
However, after that Rajasthan Royals (RR) batting unit struggled a little, as they lost the wickets of Evin Lewis and Sanju Samson. Explosive English batsman Liam Livingstone showed some form but was dismissed at the score of 25. The struggle was not over yet as Yashasvi Jaiswal also got out at 49. However, Mahipal Lomror’s 43 runs cameo assured Rajasthan Royals (RR) to reach a good total of 185.
Meanwhile, during the chase Punjab Kings (PBKS) came very close to winning the thrilling encounter but were 2 runs short. The excellent batting show by Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul went in vain.
“It’s funny that we kept believing”: Sanju Samson
The skipper of Rajasthan Royals (RR) Sanju Samson was filled with joy after the victory. In the post-match presentation, he told that he had a lot of self-belief in the team and they kept fighting till the very end.
” It’s funny that we kept believing (that we could win). I kept the overs of Mustafizur and Tyagi for the end, believing. Cricket is a funny game right. We just kept fighting and believing. I always believe in my bowlers, want to keep fighting and that’s why I kept those two overs till the end.”
Sanju Samson also added that if they wouldn’t have dropped the catches early on in the innings they would have won the game earlier.
“To be very honest, to get that score on this wicket, we felt good because we had the bowling. If we took the catches, we could have won the game earlier. People have really worked hard on their fitness.
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